Nick Reynolds

nreynolds@ithacajournal.com | @IJCityWatch

The Ithaca City School District will shut off drinking water in all school buildings until all can be tested for lead and copper levels, the district announced Wednesday afternoon on its website.

Superintendent Luvelle Brown said in a letter on the website that the district was exercising an "abundance of caution" in the wake of the discoveries that schools in the district have not been tested for lead in the water since 2005.

High lead levels in water have been found at Caroline and Enfield elementary schools following tests in August, January and February.

All water sources have now been tested at Caroline and Enfield elementary schools. Ninety-one samples were taken at Caroline Elementary School; of those, 51 are above action level, as defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. At Enfield Elementary School, 65 samples were taken, and 11 results are above action level.

Theresa Lyczko, a spokeswoman for the Tompkins County Health Department, said approximately 35 children from the schools had been tested for lead and all results came back negative. She said the department maintains its stance that parents should call their pediatricians and health care providers before undergoing testing.

The district said it is working with the county Health Department, TST BOCES and other agencies to establish a time frame to test the water in all city schools.

"As we are able to clear them so they meet EPA standards, we will be allowed to return water to those buildings," Brown said. "We will do a complete evaluation of all buildings."

Bottled water will be provided to students and staff.

According to the letter, the most recent round of districtwide water testing in Ithaca city schools was conducted in August 2005 and, at the time, showed some school's water samples exceeded action levels of 20 parts per billion, including seven faucets in Ithaca High School; a kitchen fountain in Lehman Alternative; two fountains in DeWitt Middle School; five in Boynton Middle School; 17 fountains at South Hill Elementary; nine in Northeast Elementary; 16 in Fall Creek Elementary (including a fountain in the teacher's lounge 16.5 times above action levels); two at Cayuga Heights Elementary; seven in Beverley J. Martin Elementary; and 12 at Belle Sherman Elementary.

Action levels for lead have since been upgraded to 15 ppb, and every school had multiple fountains exceeding that number a decade ago. Brown said since that information was released, no work on the pipes had taken place, and district officials were looking into whether any actions had taken place following the release of the results in 2005.

According to an email to The Ithaca Journal from EPA spokeswoman Mary Mears, there is no federal law requiring testing of drinking water in schools and child care facilities, except for those that have their own water supply. She added the EPA suggests schools implement programs for reducing lead in drinking water as part of the school’s overall plan for reducing environmental threats.

In the letter to the community Wednesday, Brown said the district would be determining other fixes and what is behind the lead issue, including an investigation into the cause of the delay in notifying parents of the contamination, and securing a third party to evaluate the next steps the district needs to take.

Action plans include:

Sampling the water in all school buildings for lead and copper levels.

Turning off drinking water sources in all buildings.

Monitoring the usage of hand-washing sinks that exceed the 15 ppb action level.

Sharing new and historical sampling data as it is received.

Develop plans addressing water quality management.

Investigating and evaluating past sampling procedures.

"With those sources shut off, it gives us an opportunity to look at these results scientifically and figure out what could be causing this," Lyczko said. "Right now, the kids aren't drinking the water, and that's what we can do immediately."

Follow Nick Reynolds on Twitter @IJCityWatch.

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