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Brighton Finds Elevated Levels Of Lead In Some Water Sources

Brighton School  officials say they have found elevated lead levels in some water fixtures in three buildings in the district.

It happened during routine environmental testing in the Administration Building, Brighton High School and Brookside, which is home to the Montessori School of Rochester. Officials say they have found slight elevations of lead in three water fountains and one faucet in three separate buildings.

The water fixtures in question are in the Administration Building, Brighton High School and Brookside, which is home to the Montessori School of Rochester.

Brighton School Superintendent Kevin McGowan says the district has voluntarily been testing its water for a long time, but statistics they found in December prompted officials to look more closely at the situation.

 “In terms of particular devices that had tested high multiple times and it was at that point in time when we said you know we really need to dig much, much further into this, work with the county and state health departments, work with the Monroe County Water Authority and really understand what these results mean.”

McGowan says the lead levels were still relatively low even if they exceeded EPA guidelines.  But he says the district will replace the water fixtures where necessary.

“There is not a single confirmed case of lead poisoning by water in Monroe County. The place it happens is from paint chips, it’s from soil, it doesn’t happen from water. But we certainly wanted to make sure people were aware, being a parent myself in the district I know that I would like to know if there’s anything in the water that my kids are drinking, that I’m drinking.”

McGowan says this isn't unusual, either for Brighton, or any building that has pipes of a certain age. In response to Brighton's recent findings, the district disconnected two of the water fountains, replaced the third and replaced the faucet.

The Brighton District is hiring a consultant to monitor water quality throughout district buildings.

Officials say while there is no indication that what has been found is cause for concern, they did address the issue through a letter on the district's website.

A letter to parents in Pittsford School District  says that district  has begun its own testing process out of an abundance of caution even though it has no information that leads them to believe Pittsford has an issue with its water quality.

Senator Chuck Schumer issued a statement saying that the Brighton finding underlines the need to pass his legislation that would pay for schools to test for lead. The New York Senator this week said he would seek to create a $100 million federal grant program to help school districts across the country test their drinking water for potential lead contamination.

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.