On July 13, 2016, the New Jersey State Board of Education adopted regulations regarding testing for lead in drinking water in public schools throughout New Jersey. The regulations were filed with the Office of Administrative Law and are effective immediately.
The regulations require testing for lead in all drinking water outlets within 365 days of the effective date of the regulations, which was July 13, 2016. All school districts were directed to develop a lead sampling plan that will govern the collection and analysis of drinking water samples. Samples must then be sent to a certified testing laboratory for analysis.
When the issue of elevated levels of lead in drinking water became an issue throughout the state last spring, our school district took a proactive approach and proceeded to conduct the testing prior to the regulations being adopted in July.
The initial testing was conducted by Coastal Environmental Compliance, LLC on May 12, 2016 and a report issued on June 7, 2016. Results of the initial testing indicated that all of the water sources throughout our district except for one faucet in School #1 were within the specified range stipulated by the regulations.
Coastal Environmental Compliance, LLC recommended a filtration system to resolve the issue. The school district procured and installed the filtration system. Re-testing of this faucet was conducted on August 31, 2016 and a final report issued by Coastal Environmental Compliance, LLC on September 9, 2016. Results of the August 31, 2016 testing indicated that all levels were acceptable.
Our school district recently completed follow-up testing that was conducted in July 2017. Copies of this most recent testing are linked to this new article. Rescults of the July 7, 2017 testing indicated that all levels were acceptable.
Please feel free to contact Michael L. Harris, Superintendent of Schools at (609) 859-2256, Extension #127 if you have any questions.
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