The following letter was sent home to parents in the New Haven School District on Friday, November 4th by Superintendent Josh Hoener.
It was reported in August that the St. Louis Public Schools were finding high levels of lead in their drinking water. After seeing these reports, we decided that we would have the water in the New Haven School District tested to ensure that our students were safe. During the time that we were working to select a company to perform our tests, we received a call from KSDK offering their help. They had partnered with Environmental Consultants, LLC to perform free testing for a few small schools in the St. Louis area. We accepted their offer and are grateful to Environmental Consultants for their donation to the school district and our taxpayers.
It was reported in August that the St. Louis Public Schools were finding high levels of lead in their drinking water. After seeing these reports, we decided that we would have the water in the New Haven School District tested to ensure that our students were safe. During the time that we were working to select a company to perform our tests, we received a call from KSDK offering their help. They had partnered with Environmental Consultants, LLC to perform free testing for a few small schools in the St. Louis area. We accepted their offer and are grateful to Environmental Consultants for their donation to the school district and our taxpayers.
Technicians from Environmental Consultants and a camera crew from KSDK came to New Haven a few weeks ago to test 31 fountains, sinks, and ice machines in our school district. The technicians chose which fixtures would be tested by the probability that students or staff would ingest water from that fixture. They did not focus on fixtures used solely for washing hands. Sinks in preschool and kindergarten classrooms were tested to error on the side of caution knowing that younger children may ingest water at times from the sinks and that lead has a greater effect on younger children. If lead is found at any water outlet at levels above 20 parts per billion (ppb), EPA recommends taking action to reduce the lead. We were happy to learn that none of our results were at or above EPA’s action level, and therefore, our water is safe.
Our fixture with the highest level of lead was a sink with a test result of 9.2 parts per billion. Although the level is less than half the action level, we have cleaned the fixture, directed that the sink only be used to wash hands, and are working to replace the faucet and pipes for that sink. Thirteen of our fixtures returned a test result of less than one part per billion, the lowest possible score. Fourteen fixtures had a score less than 3.3, and the remaining three were between 4.5 and 5.2. Environmental Consultants have advised us how to clean the fixtures with results between 1 and 5.2, and we have begun that process to ensure that the students are as safe as possible.
If I can answer any questions or provide additional information, please call me at (573)237-3231.
Sincerely,
Josh Hoener
Superintendent
New Haven School District
Our fixture with the highest level of lead was a sink with a test result of 9.2 parts per billion. Although the level is less than half the action level, we have cleaned the fixture, directed that the sink only be used to wash hands, and are working to replace the faucet and pipes for that sink. Thirteen of our fixtures returned a test result of less than one part per billion, the lowest possible score. Fourteen fixtures had a score less than 3.3, and the remaining three were between 4.5 and 5.2. Environmental Consultants have advised us how to clean the fixtures with results between 1 and 5.2, and we have begun that process to ensure that the students are as safe as possible.
If I can answer any questions or provide additional information, please call me at (573)237-3231.
Sincerely,
Josh Hoener
Superintendent
New Haven School District
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