Riverhead school water tests reveal four taps exceed lead content standards

Water tests recently conducted at Riverhead Central School District revealed that four of 250 water taps in school buildings exceeded federal standards for lead content, according to school district officials.

Further testing indicated the higher lead levels originated from the tap water fixtures, rather than building pipes, school district officials said.

The fixtures have been removed and the pipes capped. After the fixtures are replaced, they will be retested, following the guidance of the water testing company, JC Broderick. The company noted that these anomalies have been present in about 65 percent of the school buildings they have tested across Suffolk County, school district officials said.

The four water taps – three located at Riverhead Middle School, and one inside Roanoke Avenue School – only exceeded lead content standards on the primary draw, according to officials. They did not exceed lead content standards in the flush draw, which led to the conclusion that the problem originates in faulty fixtures rather than water pipes throughout the building.

The school district plans to conduct water tests on an annual basis going forward, Nancy Carney said in a letter to district staff yesterday. “The health and safety of our students and staff is our highest priority,” she said.

Carney said in an email to RiverheadLOCAL late yesterday afternoon that the district just got the test results and “a letter went home to families today.”

The tests, which were conducted in April, encompassed all water taps in the district, including the bus garage and district office in addition to all school buildings.

Two of the taps that exceeded federal standards for lead content were located in Riverhead Middle School kitchen sinks. Another was located in a middle school classroom sink in room E4, and another in Roanoke Avenue School’s Room 103.