Test results in Cherry Hill prompted an immediate response from the school district.
CHERRY HILL TWP. -- After finding elevated levels of lead in its drinking water earlier this month, the township school district has released its remediation plans.
In a Nov. 16 letter to parents, Superintendent Joseph Meloche states that the five-point plan to address the issue will "minimize our students' and staff's exposure to lead in the water" across all school buildings.
According to the letter, the district will:
- Remove "bubbler" water fountains in all classrooms that serve students in grades 1 and up.
- Replace plumbing fixtures and install filtration or bubbler in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classrooms where lead was detected.
- Place signs on all classroom sinks that state they are for hand-washing only.
- Replace plumbing fixtures and install filtration devices on faculty rooms, nurses' offices and kitchen sinks where lead was detected.
- Replace water fountains where lead was detected with filtered water stations that include a bottle-filling mechanism and a traditional water fountain.
How school district has beaten its dirty water problem
In his letter, Meloche states that any replaced plumbing fixture will be re-tested for lead. The price tag for the plan totals around $150,000, according to news reports. The testing was undertaken under New Jersey Department of Education regulations.
Earlier this month, nine water sources at Woodcrest, Bret Harte, Joseph D. Sharp, James Johnson and Horace Mann elementary schools exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency-set limit of 15 parts per billion. Those sources were immediately taken out of service.
"I am grateful to the district staff and to the many community members who have participated in discussions regarding the development of this plan," Meloche writes.
Lead in drinking water is often the result of aging infrastructure, with lead being used in solder when connecting pipes. Cherry Hill's schools were all built between 1955 and 1970. School district officials previously said that the five schools that had lead levels above the limit were all built between 1958 and 1967.
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.