To help ensure the health of students and staff, the Schenevus Central School District is working with Otsego-Northern Catskills BOCES to test the school’s drinking water for lead contamination.
A new state law requires that samples must be collected from all faucets and other sources of potable water in school districts across the state by Oct. 31 (Sept. 30 for primary grades) and sent for testing. While the new state regulations do not require action unless a sample shows a lead level above 15 parts per billion, Schenevus will work toward a standard of zero parts per billion to provide children and teens with the safest possible drinking water.
Joe Bomba, superintendent of buildings and grounds, said the district will collect samples of all sources of potable water (including kitchen and bathroom faucets) with assistance from ONC BOCES by the end of September.
Samples will be collected at Schenevus in the morning, before students arrive, and sent to a certified lab for testing. Testing fees (at $15 per sample) will be eligible for reimbursement from both building and BOCES aid to offset the cost to the district for the testing process.
Test results will be reported to parents, the state Department of Health and local government officials. If lead is detected, the outlet where lead was found will immediately be turned off, Bomba explained. Follow-up sampling will determine whether the faucet or the piping is the source of the lead, and once a determination is made, remediation work can begin.
The district receives its water from the Maryland Water District, which is required to conduct routine testing for lead and other contaminants. The town publishes a water quality report annually. The most recent report, from 2015 (http://www.marylandny.org/2015-water-quality-report), found less than one-one-hundredth of a milligram of lead per liter on average throughout the water system, well below the acceptable level determined by the state Department of Health.
Read more: Governor Cuomo signs landmark legislation to test drinking water in New York schools for lead