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Jamestown Schools Release State-Mandated Lead Testing Results

Joe DiMaio, former Jamestown Board of Education president, stopped by the school board meeting Tuesday to present an award to the board. DiMaio was awarded the New York State School Boards Association Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service and decided to share it with his former colleagues. P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

State-mandated lead testing results for the Jamestown Public Schools District found that 35 out of 550 water samples were over what is considered safe levels.

Districts across the state were required this year to test water fixtures, with acceptable lead limits at or below 15 parts per billion.

Superintendent Tim Mains announced the results at Tuesday night’s board meeting, and noted none of the positive tests came from a water supply.

“While we have a few areas that have lead samples that are over the acceptable levels, we found that in every case the issue was in the fixtures, not the plumbing or the water supply itself,” Mains said. “The fact that there was no pattern to the sources that were identified tells us it’s not in the water and if it were in pipes, it would be in successive sinks, for example. So, the nature of the results tells us it’s not the water, it’s not the water supply and it’s not the plumbing, so it’s an easy fix for us.”

The results show there were 61 fixtures tested at Lincoln Elementary School, where no fixtures exceeded the limit, while at Love Elementary School, 63 fixtures were tested in which one bubbler had a result of 16.5 ppb. Mains said a bubbler is a type of uncooled water fountain.

Bush Elementary School tested 69 fixtures, where six fixtures exceeded the limit of 15 parts per billion, including three faucets and four bubblers.

At Fletcher Elementary School, 92 fixtures were tested and 13 fixtures exceeded 15 ppb, including seven faucets, five bubblers and one water cooler.

Ring Elementary School tested 91 fixtures and nine fixture exceeded the limit, including two bubblers and seven faucets, while Persell Middle School tested 25 fixtures and none were recorded as being over the limit.

Jefferson Middle School tested 41 fixtures, with one administration kitchenette faucet exceeded the limit. Washington Middle School tested 35 fixtures, and two fixtures, including two faucets, exceeded the limit.

Jamestown High School tested 63 fixtures, and three fixtures were recorded as over the limit – which included two faucets and a water cooler. The Tech Academy tested 10 fixtures and none exceeded the limit.

If a fixture was found to be over the limit and it was a drinking fountain, a bubbler, a classroom or office sink, it was turned off immediately, and if it was located in the kitchen, it was turned off immediately and an alternative source was found. If the fixture was a bathroom sink or shower, notices were posted that the water was not for drinking.

Mains said the district did not test hose bibs and other similar fixtures, but the district has begun labeling these water sources as not water for drinking.

“We are labeling water sources like hose bibs, like showers with signs that say clearly,’These sources of water are not for drinking,'” he said. “I ran track when I was in high school, and we would go and drink out of the hose. So we want to make sure we’re educating people about ‘Think before you drink, and don’t drink from a source that might be dangerous or hasn’t been tested.'”

Mains said the process for replacing the 35 fixtures has been started.

In other news, Joe DiMaio, former Jamestown Board of Education president, returned to his old stomping grounds to share an award with his former colleagues.

DiMaio was recently awarded the New York State School Boards Association Everett R. Dyer Award for Distinguished School Board Service, and decided it was an award he and the board earned together.

“I’m very humbled by an award I received that many of you had a part in,” said Joe DiMaio, former Jamestown Board of Education president. “I know how hard each and every one of you works, and the coach in me has said that this is really a team award because this wouldn’t have really been possible without all of us working together.”

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