Cohoes City School District has received results of lead tests performed on district water outlets as required by New York state law. District staff and families were notified by email of the results and the actions taken where necessary. View the results.
Of the 288 outlets tested in Cohoes schools, nine required remediation as they were shown to have lead levels over 15 micrograms of lead per liter (typically referred to as “parts per billion (ppb)”), the threshold requiring action established by the state. In all cases, designated outlets were replaced or removed.
In September 2016, a state law went into effect that requires all public school districts in New York to test water for lead. The law requires school districts to sample all water outlets currently or potentially used for drinking or cooking purposes in buildings occupied by students and to submit these samples to a state-approved lab for analysis. Regulations call for testing to take place every five years, unless the state Commissioner of Health requires testing sooner. Although district outlets were originally slated to be retested in 2020, the deadline was extended until June 30, 2021 due to the pandemic.
If a sample from a water outlet exceeds the 15 ppb level established by the state, schools must take steps to prevent the use of the outlet for drinking or cooking purposes until it is remediated and follow-up testing confirms it is no longer above the action level. In the nine (9) cases, designated outlets were replaced or removed.