Greenport Union Free School District is taking quick action to replace multiple plumbing fixtures in its school building after they tested positive for lead contamination.
“We proactively got lead testing done on our water and there were some positive results,” said Superintendent David Gamberg at a school board meeting last night. “We took immediate action and shut everything down, because we’re treating this as an emergency situation.”
District-wide, 66 samples were obtained, 19 of which had levels of lead above the Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines. The district received the test results late last month, and immediately disconnected all water sources shown to be contaminated.
The school board last night authorized an expenditure from the repair reserve fund to cover the cost of needed repairs. Gamberg said the fund presently has a balance of around $80,000. The board declared the repairs an emergency and authorized the spending without a public hearing, since the presence of lead in water is considered an emergency.
“Overall we estimate the cost to be between $7,000-$10,000, and that includes the installation and getting the water retested afterwards,” Gamberg said. “I’m confident we’ll be able to remediate the fixtures. It’s not anything monumental — the contamination is the piping right at the point of the fixtures.”
Lead contamination occurs when materials containing lead within a plumbing system begin to corrode. Buildings with plumbing systems susceptible to lead contamination were mostly built before 1986, when Congress put restrictions on lead-based materials.
Testing for lead contamination is a three-step process, checking the water at different points in time as it flows through the plumbing system.
The district put out a letter to students’ families and staff informing them of the contamination and the district’s actions to remedy it. The letter also encourages community members to get their private residences tested, since lead “can permeate any water distribution system.”
The new plumbing fixtures will be installed before school begins next month, Gamberg said. The school will continue to test its water annually to ensure no further contamination occurs.
Southold is also undergoing testing, and currently awaiting results.
A bill passed by the State Legislature in June, which awaits signature by the governor, would mandate “periodic testing” for all school districts and would provide additional building aid through the State Education Department to cover the costs of screening, testing and remediation.
