Water fixtures in 10 Newton schools have now tested high for lead this year, the TAB’s Jonathan Dame reports.
And here’s a memo from the city outlining steps to address this.
Here’s the latest on lead in pipes at Newton schools
by Village 14 | Jul 20, 2016 | Newton | 8 comments
I don’t get this logic:
First, it seems disingenuous. Doubt they’d teally be removing they bubblers if not for the lead tests. Second, the logic seems backwards. If you take away my bubbler, I’m going to fill my water cup from the hand washing sink instead, and it seems like those are just as problematic or more so.
I’d also like to know how there is a lead problem in a brand new school (NNHS). Has the new Angier been tested ?
I recently heard that some of the houses near Burr have high levels of Radon? And that their is a Pipe that the city has placed in the ground to help release the radon that evidently is in the ground. From what I heard this is in the area of Albert Rd/ Roberta Rd?? Can anyone verify this? If true – has Burr been checked for Radon levels??
So I received one of the 641 letters that had been sent out by the city late last week regarding a possibility that one of our properties might have lead pipes.
I had been told by 2 different people that the city had a program that used GEO lab in Braintree to test the water and they had a system in place at Newton City Hall where I could pick up a container at Newton City Hall , fill it with our tap water, bring it back to City Hall and then GEO labs would pick it up at Newton City Hall and then let us know the results. I called the City of Newton ( both Customer Service and the Mayor’s Office) to find out about this program and was told that “ it is no longer in place since last week – you can use one of the certified MWRA labs that is listed on our website”.
I confirmed with GEO labs and Newton City Hall Customer Service that – They got rid of this program last week. This program had been in place for YEARS.
Seems pretty interesting that they would get rid of a Lead water testing program right before they send out 641 letters to homeowners in Newton with possible lead pipes. You would think that the city would want to Help the homeowner and not make it more difficult by now making 641 homeowners mail their samples to GEO labs or another lab when they did weekly pickup for years at Newton City Hall.
Joanne –
Burr was last tested for Radon in 2008 and the levels in all tested areas were below the actionable level of 4.0 in all tested areas with the exception of the boiler room which read 8.9. That’s an area where kids are not allowed though.
Peter
Thanks Peter – that was 8 years ago so it might be time to test it again. Houses near Burr have high levels of Radon – so how can we be sure that Burr doesn’t?
According to a tweet from Jonathan Dame, retweeted by V14, after remediation to have lead free water in Burr School, 5 sinks, 1 water fountain and 1 bottle filler are still above actionable levels.
Very disappointing given the extent of the remediation work that was done over the summer. What follows is part of a message from Superintendent Fleishman:
Remediation Update
Over the summer, the following work was completed:
• Replaced service line to school
• Replaced all interior cold water plumbing lines
• Replaced all water fountains
• Replaced all sink fixtures
One piece of the remediation plan could not be executed. We had planned to install on-demand hot water heaters at each sink so that hot water would be accessed via the new cold water pipes. However, due to electrical constraints in the building, we were unable to install them. Hot water continues to flow through the existing hot water pipes.
Testing and Results
On Friday, August 26th, the water was shut off in the school so that testing would mimic the length of time water could remain stagnant prior to drinking. On Monday, August 29th, Universal Environmental, the outside contractor hired to test water in all Newton Public Schools, tested the water in all fountains and sinks. Results were received on Thursday, September 1st. We are disappointed to report that elevated lead levels were identified in two water fountains and five sinks. Copper levels were elevated in two fountains and seven sinks.
Action Plan
All water fountains will be shut off and dispensers will be installed to provide drinking water to all students and staff. Sinks will remain on, but should only be used for hand washing and cleaning. Educational signage is posted to inform students and staff of appropriate sink use.
We are determined to fix this issue and will provide regular updates on our progress.
Did they check the MAIN in the Street?? Did the city check the abutters lead level?? And Lastly – Did the City check the SOIL since Burr was built on a DUMP??? There is Radon in the homes that border Burr – so one should start looking at the fact that Burr was built on a dump and do we really know what was in the ground ?
HOW Much money was spent on this and they did not even fix the lead issue. Maybe the State needs to intervene.