Many of our school and daycare clients have reached out to us regarding their concern over the lead in water testing to seek our expertise. This lead issue whether it’s coming from paint or your pipes is here to stay. New Jerseyans over the last several months have gone thru the various stages of this crisis. As it first hit Newark Public Schools and has rippled its way thru the state school administrators and public which in turn forced Gov. Chris Christie announcement yesterday that all schools in New Jersey will be tested for lead in drinking water. Lawmakers have introduced legislation that would accomplish the governor’s new initiatives. Actually there are currently 10 proposed bills just on lead which have been introduced since January 2016 and there are more to come. The bill that appears to have legs is the one in State Assembly (#3680 sponsored by Greenwald, Pintor and Marin). You can read it here: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A4000/3680_I1.PDF
The Bill, if passed, would require all public and private K-12 schools in NJ to test their water systems twice annually. If elevated lead concentrations are identified, measures such as filters must be installed and the system retested. All results must be made publicly available and parents notified of results.
We have been working alongside Newark Public Schools and the NJDEP Division of Water Supply & Geoscience to assess their schools and have experienced the logistics, record keeping and reporting involved in accomplishing these assessments. Last week the NJDEP Division of Water Supply & Geoscience released a guidance, which we recommend you review.
To access the document click the following link: http://www.nj.gov/dep/watersupply/pdf/lead-copper-guiidance.pdf
It is not enforced yet but as you can see there are five (5) steps to follow which are the components of the 3 T’s Testing, Training and Telling (USEPA Guidelines). We are assuming if a bill is passed requiring schools to obtain compliance, they will adhere to NJDEP’s guidance document.
- Develop a Plumbing Profile for your facility’s plumbing system
- Create a Sampling Plan
- Determine Sampling Locations
- Collect the Samples and Select a Lab for Analysis
- Take Remedial Action (if necessary)
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or seek recommendations. Please contact Tim Popp, TTI’s VP of Consulting: 856-840-8800 x24 or timp@ttienv.com.