A new water filtration system has been installed at the Jr./Sr. High School. The system is not currently in use due to additional water testing that needs to take place through the Columbia County Department of Health.
Since January 2022 the district has been providing drinking water for students and staff at the Jr./Sr. High School after a state-mandated water test for PFOAS came back slightly above the state threshold. Test results from January 2022 found the chemical perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in the drinking water at New Lebanon Jr./Sr. High School was at 11 ppt. This is above New York State’s MCL of 10 ppt for PFOS in public drinking water systems. No reportable conditions of PFOS have been detected at the Walter B. Howard Elementary Schools.
The district has been participating in on-going water testing and the results have fluctuated between 8-11 ppt.
The cost of the water filtration system project will be close to $180,000 and has been purchased using funds from the 22-23 school budget. This project was approved as a New York State Emergency Project, which allows the district to receive state aid back the following school year.
The water testing will take several weeks before the district is cleared to start using the new tanks. The district will communicate with the public once we have been cleared and the filtration system is up and running.
To see water testing result visit our district website at: https://www.newlebanoncsd.org/district/pfos/
