Removal of the fountains occurred in the first two weeks of the school year. A letter sent to parents of students in the district said the lead level was:
“slightly elevated above EPA standard.”
Andrew Morrow, the district's assistant superintendent, said that all the fountains still online are safe to use, and further, the district has a plan to move forward to solve the problem. He revealed that last summer, the school district participated in a “voluntary testing” effort, along with the Bloomfield-West Hartford Health District, and the Metropolitan District, which found the problem.
The schools affected are Conard High School, where two fountains were shut down; Hall High School, which took one offline; Aiken Elementary closed down ten; Bugbee Elementary shut down 13; Wolcott Elementary took 22 offline; Morley Elementary shut down 13; and the STRIVE program, which took two out of service.
Morrow went on to say the school were turning off the water through an:
“abundance of caution,”
adding that additional testing of the affected fountains had been ordered. He also said the school district and the Bloomfield-West Hartford Health District are working together to find the problem and will replace the fountains over the summer of 2017.
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