New York City’s water is of the highest quality, meeting or exceeding all federal and State standards. The City regulates its own watershed that surrounds — and protects — our reservoirs, and the water is tested over 500,000 times each year at various points throughout the system. Beyond these extensive measures, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) works with City agencies, including the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), to ensure our students have access to safe drinking water in schools.
The water in every NYC public school was tested for lead in 2016 and the vast majority of test results were not elevated. Those drinking or cooking outlets that exceeded the action level for lead were immediately taken out of service, remediated and not placed back into service until the outlet re-tested below the action level. This fall, the State issued new regulations on testing water for lead in schools. To ensure that we continue to exceed requirements, the DOE, in partnership with the State Department of Health and the NYC, has updated its protocol for lead testing in drinking water in school buildings.