SENATE PASSES BILL TO ENSURE SAFE DRINKING WATER IN SCHOOLS

The New York State Senate today passed legislation (S.7103C), co-sponsored by Senator George Amedore, to ensure safe drinking water in our schools by requiring testing for lead in public schools.

“Many of our school building throughout New York State are old, with old infrastructure,” said Senator George Amedore. “Lead can lead to damaging health issues, particularly in young children, and the health and safety of our children in our schools needs to be a priority.”

Lead has been recently discovered is school water supplies throughout New York, including in Amsterdam, Niskayuna and Schenectady.

Under the provisions of the bill passed today, school districts and BOCES would undergo periodic tap testing at a frequency to be set by DOH. Buildings built after 2014 will be exempt, schools testing negative would be given waivers, and schools with water containing unacceptable amounts of lead would be eligible for additional financial assistance for the costs of testing and remediation.

Under current law, there is no uniform state-wide system of testing, or reporting requirement for the results. Public school Building Condition Surveys are conducted once every five years, and while they require the identification of possible hazards – including lead pipes – but the state lacks a comprehensive system to test all drinking water at the tap.

“Testing for lead is a common-sense solution to keep our schools and communities safe and ensure healthy, clean drinking water in our schools,” said Senator George Amedore. “It’s our responsibility to keep our school children and faculty safe, and that includes making sure they are not put in jeopardy by drinking contaminated water.”

The bill was sent to the Assembly.

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