In February, Caroline and Enfield elementary schools had something amiss with their water—particularly that it had failed drinking water tests for lead run by the health department. Questions began to rise quickly after the information was released. The Ithaca Journal and The Ithaca Voice both published pieces on the recent tests and water contamination.
On February 9 at the biweekly ICSD board meeting, Deputy Superintendent Matt Landahl made a statement about the “water crisis” remarking that there had been communication and trust gaps. “I think it fundamentally gets back to the issue of trust. Trust is given when parents send their children to our schools … trust is also something that is earned, and trust is something that can be lost. And thankfully, trust is something that can be earned back.”
He went on to note that ICSD is the primary and principal water authority of Caroline and Enfield elementary schools. It is the school district’s duty to monitor the water, and he noted that they have been engaging in such monitoring faithfully. Testing in Caroline and Enfield has been done every three years.
EPA spokeswoman Mary Mears noted in an email to the Ithaca Journal that there is no federal law regulating the testing or monitoring of water quality in public education institutions unless said institution has its own water supply. While schools located in the city use the municipal water supply, outlying schools like Enfield and Caroline rely on well water.
Mr. Landahl affirmed that water issues in August of 2015 were due to a misreading of a pretesting procedure in which water is left in the pipes for a minimum of 6 hours (in this case, water was left in pipes for two months). This was thought to be the cause of the high lead count—more than the 15 parts of lead per billion limit set by the EPA.
In response to this August reading, the health department action plan was to test water once every six months instead of once every three years. However, these statements were made as of February 9, a week after the incident. Since then, a second round of testing confirmed lead levels at schools still above EPA recommendations. On February 24, Dr. Brown issued a letter to parents and staff members in which he confirmed that the district has hired an engineer to audit Caroline and Enfield infrastructure, has provided bottled water for students and staff there as February 17, and has shut off all access to drinking water through the pipes.
All other ICSD buildings also had their water shut off until new rounds of testing have been conducted to affirm water safety. Dr. Brown’s letter noted that the district’s investigation has revealed “the most recent water testing results for school buildings other than Caroline and Enfield are more than 10 years old,” having been done in 2005. Along with Dr. Brown’s letter, the district has publicly released district water testing from 2005 as well as the specific water reports from August for both Caroline and Enfield.
The district is also reportedly working with the Tompkins County Health Department and TST BOCES in their efforts. Dr. Brown noted that “safe drinking water is a necessity for our students and staff” and promised transparency throughout the process.
This issue is enfolding as questions are raised about water safety district wide, and as of this writing, no tests from other school buildings have been returned. Pay attention in coming weeks, and keep following the news for more information.
See related editorial.