Long Island schools flagged for lead in water fixtures
More than one-third of Long Island schools had at least one water fixture used for drinking or cooking that exceeded the state's standard for lead, according to a new report.
Across Nassau and Suffolk, 1,031 of 22,345 fixtures tested — about 4.6% — exceeded the state standard of 5 parts per billion for lead levels in school drinking or cooking water, according to a study conducted by the Environment America Research & Policy Center, New York Public Interest Research Group and Frontier Group.
In Nassau, 33.7% of schools had at least one outlet that tested above the state standard. In Suffolk, 36.0% of schools had at least one fixture test above the state standard. Statewide, the figure was higher, with 42% of public schools having at least one outlet testing above the state standard, according to the study.
“That’s over 12,000 water outlets across the Empire State that tests indicate could be exposing schoolchildren to lead,” the report read. And the findings “are just the tip of the toxic iceberg,” the report stated.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A new report found that one-third of Long Island schools had at least one water fixture used for drinking or cooking that tested above the state’s threshold for lead.
- Across the state, 42% of public schools had at least one outlet that tested above the state standard, according to the study.
- The report recommends schools take preventive measures, including installing lead-capturing filters on drinking and cooking outlets.
The report's analysis was based on data from lead testing completed during the 2023-2025 compliance period. Testing was also included for districts that completed and reported it to the state during the 2026-2028 compliance period.
A separate review by Newsday of state lead test data, published in March, found that nearly 3,000 water fountains, sink faucets and other water fixtures in the Island’s schools exceeded the state’s threshold for lead.
All but 10 of the 123 districts whose results Newsday reviewed had at least one fixture that didn’t comply with the 5 ppb standard. Some tested just barely above the limit, while others exceeded it by a wide margin. One faucet at a Syosset middle school, for example, tested at 2,330 parts per billion, according to the district’s lab report.
Seven of the 10 districts with the highest percentages of noncompliant fixtures served mostly students of color.
Newsday’s review found that many fixtures that had exceeded the limit and were removed from service were later listed as compliant, even though the fixtures had simply been removed, shut off or fixed with a sign warning students and staff not to use it.
'Perpetual problem'
Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Long Island-based Citizens Campaign for the Environment, said in an interview with Newsday, "The issue of lead in schools has been a perpetual problem for over a decade now, and it's not that unusual because schools have very old piping or infrastructure that needs to be replaced and modernized."
Esposito said the challenge for schools is obtaining the funding necessary to make fixes, often from grants or as part of the annual school budget.
Bob Vecchio, executive director of the Nassau-Suffolk School Boards Association, said school districts have been addressing the issue on "a case-by-case basis and on a districtwide basis as part of their renovations, repairs and capital projects."
He said some districts have installed water dispensing stations with built-in filtration but that doing so can be complicated and costly. Vecchio advised parents with any concerns to reach out to the school's principal or assistant principal.
Standards changed in 2022
Lead toxicity does not always cause obvious symptoms. But exposure in children can cause learning and behavioral issues, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Even low levels in blood can be harmful.
New York State enacted changes to school drinking water testing and standards in 2022. Testing is required every three years, and the state's threshold was lowered from 15 ppb to 5 ppb.
Fixtures with testing results that exceed 5 ppb are taken out of service for drinking and cooking. Schools must offer free alternative sources of drinking water, take remedial action and retest, according to the state Health Department.
The report states that despite public health experts agreeing that even lower levels of exposure to lead can be detrimental to health, schools are only required to report test results to the state that are above the state standard.
"Five parts per billion is then not a standard based on protecting public health, because it creates this gap of reporting and remediating between 0 and 5 parts per billion," said David Masur, senior advocate at Environment America Research & Policy Center.
Masur said districts scramble to conduct remediation year after year, with some schools reporting more outlets surpassing the state's lead limit in 2026 than during the state's 2023-2025 testing period.
Testing results at individual water outlets can fluctuate, according to the report, because lead contamination is linked to several factors, "including water chemistry, water use patterns and the presence of lead plumbing materials." Lead leaches into water when pipes, faucets and fixtures that contain the toxic heavy metal corrode.
"It's like playing whack-a-mole," Masur said.
The report recommends preventive filtration "that requires the installation and maintenance of lead-capturing filters on all taps used for drinking, cooking and beverage preparation and a 1 ppb post-filtration limit on lead consistent with public health recommendations."
In 2023, Michigan was the first state to sign legislation requiring all schools and childcare facilities to install lead-reducing filters on drinking water fixtures.
Newsday's Tracy Tullis contributed to this report.
Lorena Mongelli has been reporting for Newsday since 2021. Prior to that, she covered breaking news at the New York Post.
