Friday, April 16, 2021

Dear MWMS families,

In 2016, a law went into effect requiring testing of all school sources of water that are “currently used or potentially used for drinking or cooking purposes.”

School districts are required to report the results of all water testing to the state Department of Health, the state Education Department and the local health department, and to post the results – along with remediation plans, if required – on the official district website.

The school district has received results of recent testing conducted on a sampling of kitchen, bathroom and classroom sinks at Monroe-Woodbury Middle School. Of the 136 sources tested on March 11, 2021, 74 were found to exceed the action level of 15 micrograms of lead per liter, typically referred to as “parts per billion (ppb),” as determined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the EPA, lead enters drinking water primarily from eroding materials that contain lead such as faucets, fittings and pipes.

We believe the higher than normal levels are due to the school being vacant for consecutive months during the height of the pandemic, and then less populated for prolonged periods as hybrid learning resumed. The district will flush the systems and then have the levels retested in the next few weeks. Attached is a list of sources that exceeded the action level. All affected sources of water at these areas have been posted with “Do Not Drink” signs.

Additional information about water testing can be found on the Water Testing page of our district website. As always, we are committed to maintaining a safe environment for all students and staff and will keep you apprised after retesting is conducted.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at 460-6400.

Sincerely,

Michael Maesano
Principal

Monroe-Woodbury Middle School Water Testing Action Locations – March 11, 2021

BOCES Complete Listing – Middle School Water Testing – March 11, 2021