[read complete report – pdf]

We also issued individual reports for the following municipalities: Bayport Blue Point Union Free School District, Chazy Union Free School District, Cheektowaga-Maryvale Union Free School District, Commack Union Free School District, DeRuyter Central School District, East Bloomfield Central School District, Fredonia Central School District, Glen Cove City School District, Germantown Central School District, Harpursville Central School District, Indian Lake Central School District, Johnstown City School District, Moravia Central School District, Oxford Academy and Central School District, Pine Plains Central School District, Poland Central School District, Ravena Coeymans Selkirk Central School District, Sullivan West Central School District, Tupper Lake Central School District, Wayland-Cohocton Central School District, York Central School District

Purpose of Review

Using the New York State (NYS) Department of Health’s (DOH) Lead Testing in School Drinking Water Guidance Manual (DOH guidance), we assessed whether the officials at 21 school districts (together, Districts) that had 26,099 enrolled students for the 2023-24 school year:

• Developed and maintained a sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption,
• Sampled and tested all required potable water outlets for lead contamination for Cycle Two,
• Had a remedial action plan detailing which water outlets they exempted from sampling and how they were secured against use and also which outlets exceeded the lead action level and the remedial actions taken, and,
• Reported the testing results to all required parties within the required time periods.

For these 21 Districts we determined:

• None sampled and tested or exempted all required potable water outlets for lead contamination in Cycle Two,
• Only one developed and maintained a complete sampling plan,
• Only one had a complete remedial action plan in place, and
• Just one reported testing results to all required parties within the required timeframes.

Sampling and Testing – Of the 6,431water outlets we identified at select areas within various buildings at all 21 Districts, that students, staff and the public may have had access to and could have consumed water from, we determined:

• 1,867 (29 percent) were not sampled for testing or properly exempted by Districts’ officials, and
• 418 (6 percent) could not be matched to a District test result because records were not available and District officials were not certain whether appropriate remediation was completed. These water outlets were not properly secured against use during our fieldwork.

These conditions occurred because most of the Districts did not develop or maintain a complete sampling plan and did not have or maintain a complete remedial action plan.

Sampling Plans – Only one District developed and maintained a complete sampling plan to identify all water outlets for sampling or exemption, 16 did not have a sampling plan, and four had an incomplete sampling plan.

Remedial Action Plans – Only one District had a complete remedial action plan that detailed which water outlets they exempted from sampling and how they would be secured against use. Sixteen Districts had no remedial action plan and four Districts had an incomplete remedial action plan.

Reporting Testing Results – Only one of the 21 Districts properly reported testing results to the required parties for Cycle Two. The remaining 20 Districts had at least one or more issues with reporting their test results, including no reporting at all, late reporting, no documentation of reporting, no notification to staff, students’ parents and/or guardians in writing, and/or no posting of all test results on the Districts’ websites.