A report released last Thursday by the Environment America Research & Policy Center found that about 40 percent of New York public schools have lead in their water supply, prompting a call to action to address the lead threshold in local schools.

The report, titled “Get the lead out New York” details statewide and county data regarding lead in school water supplies in New York. Over 12,000 water outlets self-reported by school districts across New York showed lead contamination above the state’s current limit.

David Masur, a senior advocate for Environment America, a federation of state-based environmental advocacy organizations, wrote to Pipe Dream that New York has been a “leader” in reducing allowable standards of lead.

“That being said, these standards were a) not health-based standards for fully protecting kids from lead in school drinking water (given that we know that lead is unsafe at any level–and that even very low levels of lead can lead to significant health problems for young children, the level should be set at the American Academy of Pediatrics 1 ppb standard. The current NY standard is five-fold higher than that.); and b) it is fine from the perspective of collecting data and essentially improving the public’s ‘right to know’ about lead in school drinking water,” Masur wrote.

In the report, Environment America called on Governor Kathy Hochul to move away from the “test and tell” approach and instead implement a “Filter First” policy aimed at prevention instead of reaction. The policy proposed the installation of lead-capturing filters at every potable water outlet used for drinking, cooking and beverage preparation and setting a one part per billion limit for water sources in school districts in line with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics. According to Masur, Environment America urged New York state school districts not to wait for mandated statewide action, but to implement the suggestions as soon as possible.

The Binghamton City School District sent a statement to parents on Sept. 24, stating, “To be clear: drinking water is safe at all sources in all of our buildings. Water is tested in our buildings as required by New York State law.”

The school district stated that 345 water sources were tested for lead in July 2025 and seven water sources across district schools Binghamton High School, Horace Mann Elementary and Woodrow Wilson Elementary were found to be above the allowable threshold, with two being bottle-filling stations and the others being sinks not for drinking. The district said the sources were fixed and found in accordance with state levels in August 2025.

“The news report relied on outdated test results,” the statement wrote. “BCSD was not contacted by the local news in advance of their reporting, which would have allowed for a simple explanation and therefore avoided the confusion the report has now caused. The safety of our students and staff is a top priority for our school district. It is unfortunate that the local news did not do its due diligence prior to running its report.”

For the last 10 years, the state’s policy has operated under Public Health Law §1110, requiring schools to test outlets and initiate remediation efforts only after exceedances of a five parts per billion threshold.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which currently advises that children receive zero lead exposure, added that even low levels can cause a host of symptoms ranging from hyperactivity, learning disabilities, lower IQ, anemia, slowed growth and hearing impairments.

Environment America found that lead contamination rose in other local governments and school districts. Additionally, a 2025 comptroller’s report found that many schools failed to test, report and remediate. Masur elaborated that remediation is also too poorly defined to contribute to progress in combating lead exposure.

“We see school districts across the state taking steps that don’t actually address the lead issue — they put a sign up saying, ‘Please don’t drink this ’; or they replace one piece of equipment that may have lead with another piece of equipment that may have lead; or they just turn off the fountain, which can create different problems — limiting children’s ability to have access to drinking water, which of course they need,” he explained.

Masur explained that the findings in Broome County are likely “just the tip of the iceberg” and there are thousands of outlets that have been unfixed due to loopholes in New York’s lead laws. If an outlet tests between zero and five ppb, it does not need to be reported to the state or fixed based on current NY law.

“When it comes to protecting kids health from lead contamination, all of the hurdles are mostly political, not substantive,” Masur wrote. “The legislation in Albany we are supporting would reimburse school districts for replacing their drinking fountains and sinks with lead-certifying equipment, so there’s no direct cost for school districts.”