Schools move quickly to address lead in water

Problem found, problem solved. They just came in, changed what needed to be changed and that was it.”

Bill Heidenreich Superintendent, VSCHSD

Tests of Valley Stream schools' drinking water have revealed traces of lead in Districts 13 and 24 and the Valley Stream Central High School District, and are pending in District 30. The traces were found in a small number of drinking fountains in each district and have been addressed, according to school officials.

“I think when people hear lead, it creates anxiety,” said Central High School District Superintendent Bill Heidenreich, adding that six fountains in the district tested positive for levels higher than Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. “Problem found, problem solved,” he said. “They just came in, changed what needed to be changed and that was it.”

The crises in Flint, Mich., and Newark, among other communities, were the impetus for the tests, most of which were done in March and April. Most lead gets into water sources after it leaves a local well or treatment plant and comes into contact with plumbing materials that contain lead. Hot water is likely to contain higher levels of lead than cold water.

High levels of lead in the bloodstream are associated with brain damage that can cause behavioral problems, learning disabilities and impaired growth.

“With the publicity that’s been going on, it was our thinking that it was the right thing to do in order to protect the health and safety of our students,” said District 24 Superintendent Ed Fale.

Four fountains at the Wheeler Avenue School tested positive for lead during the spring recess in April. The district shut down those fountains and changed their fountainheads, which were decades old. The EPA requires that lead content in drinking water not exceed 15 parts per billion. District 13 Superintendent Constance Evelyn said that the highest concentration of the four contaminated fountains was 29 parts per billion, and that a specialist from the Ronkonkoma-based water testing company Enviroscience told her he had found concentrations as high as 2,400 parts per billion in drinking water in other school districts.

Testing has been done at all Valley Stream schools. In District 24, Fale said, traces of lead were found in the first drops from five fountains. The district changed the fountainheads on April 22 and, Fale said, “We retested and everything is fine.”

Testing in District 30 was completed last week, said Superintendent Nicholas Stirling, and results are pending. District 13 is awaiting results of its follow-up testing.