Old plumbing in school buildings can harbor hidden lead hazards

On Board Online • April 11, 2016

By Cathy Woodruff
Senior Writer

Ever since Ithaca school officials discovered disturbing levels of lead in district drinking water, they've been hearing lots of questions from their counterparts in other districts.

"Many are reaching out to us, as we are in the news about it," said David Brown, the district's chief administration officer. "They want to know where we found it and how we are researching it, how we are getting certified water into the building, how and when we decided to do the testing. Basically, the questions are more general than specific. '"

There is no state requirement to test drinking water in schools served by public water systems because operators of municipal systems already must test regularly for lead before the water reaches school buildings. (Under federal regulations, districts must test water periodically in school buildings served by wells.)

But clean public water traveling through old school plumbing can result in contamination. Children are particularly vulnerable to the health hazards of lead exposure, which can impair mental development and cause damage to other organs.

Theoretically, any school building built before 1986 could have lead in its pipes. That's the year Congress passed an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water Act to ban use of lead in plumbing. Some experts also warn that certain types of brass fixtures allowed in more recent plumbing can pose a risk as well.

While a census was not available from the State Education Department (SED), many school buildings in the state were built in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, and experts in SED's Office of Facilities Planning estimate that the average school building in New York is 60 to 65 years old. In city districts, the average age would be more like 70 or 75 years, they said.

It's not uncommon for older buildings to have newer plumbing installed during remodeling and expansion projects, but school facilities directors say it's hard to know where remnants of older piping, lead solder or troublesome types of brass might be lurking. Lead readings also can be elevated, they note, at older, lesser-used fixtures that aren't flushed by frequent use.

Revelations about massive lead contamination of public water in Flint, Mich., which involved a bungled transition to a new city water supply, as well as school districts in New Jersey have raised widespread concern about school water quality this year.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has warned that Flint could be "the tip of the iceberg" of public water issues. He proposed the creation of a $100 million voluntary federal grant program through the Environmental Protection Agency to help school districts cover the cost of testing their drinking water for lead.

Julie Marlette, NYSSBA's director of governmental relations, praised that approach. "The senator's proposal leaves the decision-making to the local boards of education," Marlette said, "But providing funding for testing is just a first step. Where will the resources come from if a problem is discovered?"

At the state level, Assembly member Donna Lupardo (D-Endwell) has introduced a bill that would mandate testing for lead in drinking water in schools served by municipal water and built before 1986. The costs of testing and remediation would be eligible for building aid funding under the proposal.

Ithaca first found elevated lead levels as a result of testing done in buildings on well water last year. The district followed up early this year with testing in 10 buildings served by municipal water, Brown said. Officials found many samples above the EPA's 15 parts-per-billion "action level."

"Lead can present itself from many different places - piping, solder, faucets," said Brown. "Once we realized that this could be an internal problem, we started to look at all our plumbing infrastructure."

An engineering study is planned to better determine exactly what is causing the elevated lead levels and what work would be necessary to eliminate the contamination.

In the meantime, the district is renting 155 five-gallon tanks and buying water for drinking and cooking in 12 schools. Testing costs, so far, have exceeded $10,000, Brown said. He said it's too soon to even guess what the total cost may be to deal with the issue.

Shortly after Ithaca's findings hit the news, officials in a nearby Tompkins County community wondered what tests of public water flowing from the taps in their district might reveal. Testing of about 60 drinking-water taps and fountains in the Trumansburg school district in March (at a cost of $35 per water source) revealed two places where lead levels exceeded the15-parts-per-billion threshold for action.

Both taps were seldom used. One was an out-of-the-way water fountain down a long hallway and the other was a "bubbler" fountain attached to a sink in an elementary classroom, said Superintendent Michael McGuire. For now, both water sources have been shut off. The fountains eventually may be replaced.

Joe Magliocca, Trumansburg's director of facilities and transportation, consulted with the Tompkins County Health Department on the testing, and the district also relied on technical guidance offered by the EPA in a 104-page publication, 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools, McGuire said. The title refers to the importance of training, testing and telling.

The state Health Department relies extensively on local health departments to carry out New York's lead poisoning prevention activities and follow-up, department officials said in an email response to inquiries from On Board.

Even so, spokesmen said, state health officials have seen an increase in direct inquiries from school districts asking about water testing for lead, and the department has tallied 36 inquiries from county and city health departments and regional offices.

"Testing at schools, regardless of if it's a public water supply or a private well, is currently a voluntary program under the direction of the EPA," a department spokesmen said. "The department encourages all school districts to assess their water systems and will provide technical guidance to school districts that request assistance."