AMHERST — After a recent test indicated elevated levels of lead in the water at some Crocker Farm School faucets, children and teachers in four classrooms will be provided bottled water when classes begin this week.
As part of a voluntary testing program for lead and copper supervised by the state Department of Public Health and Department of Environmental Protection, 118 samples were taken Aug. 3 at the school on West Street. Five samples, from 74 different outlets, exceeded the actionable level of lead at 15 parts per billion, according to federal limits. No high levels of copper were found in any of the samples.
Parents and staff were notified about the results in an email issued by the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District last Saturday.
Both Michael Morris, acting superintendent for the Amherst schools, and Amherst Health Director Julie Federman said Monday that the tests are not a concern.
“These results are good,” Federman said.
“I’m glad we did the test and participated,” Morris said. “We wanted to get information about anything that would affect the health and safety of students and staff.”
The five samples that were positive came from “first draw” water, which is water that has been sitting in the pipes overnight for six to 12 hours. All of the samples in which water was flushed through pipes for 30 seconds were negative for lead and copper at levels above the federal limits.
“The good news is we know the rest of Crocker Farm is tested and clean,” Morris said.
The five positive tests were confined to four classrooms. Data published on the school website shows these were in classroom 24, where a faucet registered 38 parts per billion and the water fountain had 170 parts per billion. In classroom 30, the water produced 32 parts per billion. It was 19 parts per billion in classroom 202 and 17 parts per billion in classroom 26.
Amherst was one of 179 communities, with 900 schools, that volunteered for the initial round of testing. Crocker Farm was done Aug. 3 because summer programs at the site keep the building in use.
Other schools in Amherst, including Wildwood and Fort River elementary, the regional middle and high schools and the South East Street campus, as well as Pelham Elementary, will be tested once the school year begins. Results of those tests will be announced as soon as they are received, Morris said.
Out of concern about lead and copper levels, flushing of the faucets and water fountains will take place in all buildings.
“We will implement that measure in other schools just as a precaution,” Morris said.
The faucets and water fountain at Crocker Farm will be repaired.
“These five outlets in four of the classrooms have hardware that needs to be switched out,” Federman said.
While lead exposure poses a danger to children and pregnant women, Federman said much of the risk comes through soil and paint.
Lead was discovered in the public water supply in Flint, Michigan, in April 2014. No such problem exists in Amherst.
“We have great source water in town,” Federman said. “That is not an issue.”
The situation is also unlike last winter in Granby, when lead in water from five taps at the Junior-Senior High School and the East Meadow Elementary School was revealed to have tested at levels higher than allowed for child care facilities in the state.
That was attributed to plumbing and fixtures in the school buildings, but the main issue was that the community was not notified until February, and state environmental reporting protocols were not followed.
To get back into compliance, Granby had to do weekly testing of its school water, informing the public about the dangers of lead and developing a corrosion control system to address problems with the pipes.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.