UPDATE: December 8, 2025
Lead in water testing is required by NYS Public Health Law Section 1110. The District recently tested 181 water sources throughout our school buildings. Testing was last done in 2021. In December of 2022, revisions to this law revised the action level of lead in drinking water from 15 parts per billion (ppb) to 5 ppb and updated compliance testing from five years to three years. The three-year cycle is established by the State and we are required to test between 2023 and 2026 and then again between 2027 and 2029.
The 2021 testing resulted in 108 locations that exceeded the 15 ppb requirement. The District has had ongoing lead remediation efforts for years. In the 2018 capital project, 142 faucets were replaced. In the 2021 capital project and 2022 repair reserve, the domestic water main line at the High School and 71 faucets were replaced by our contractors and an additional 31 faucets were replaced by our maintenance mechanics. We have also conducted a baseline test at the point of entry for each building. The current testing resulted in 57 fixtures that exceeded the 5 ppb requirement.
This link consolidates all pertinent elements into one comprehensive source, offering a thorough overview of the situation, findings, and response strategies.
- A comprehensive list of water sources by building that had findings, including the plan to address each issue.
- Superintendent Swartz’s letters to staff, students, and families for each school, detailing the findings and corresponding plans.
- The state-mandated lab analysis of the test results.
Background on lead
Lead is a toxic material that is extremely harmful to young children and can result in lowered IQ, behavioral problems and brain damage.
Pursuant to the accompanying regulations, samples collected must be 250 milliliters and taken from a cold water outlet where the water has been motionless in the pipes for a minimum of 8 hours but not more than 18 hours.
According to the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead can enter drinking water when service pipes that contain lead corrode, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures with lead solder, from which significant amounts of lead can enter into the water, especially hot water.
Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. Three of the elementary schools – Glendaal, Glen Worden and Lincoln – were built in the early 1950s; Sacandaga was built in the late 1920s. The middle school was built in the early 1970s and the high school was built in the late 1950s.
Young children, infants, and fetuses are particularly vulnerable to lead because the physical and behavioral effects of lead occur at lower exposure levels in children than in adults. A dose of lead that would have little effect on an adult can have a significant effect on a child. In children, low levels of exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing, and impaired formation and function of blood cells.
Children are exposed to lead in paint, dust, soil, air, and food, as well as drinking water. The EPA estimates that drinking water can make up 20 percent or more of a person’s total exposure to lead.
Schools have been required to test their water for lead since September 2016. This link provides more information from the state.