No Lead In Drinking Water At Belleville Schools: Officials

BELLEVILLE, NJ — There is no sign of lead in the drinking water at Belleville’s public schools, authorities say.

On Sept. 20, Belleville town officials announced that after a round of testing, the district’s eight schools show no indication of lead – or other contaminants – in the drinking supply.

Testing was carried out at Belleville High School, Belleville Junior High School and Schools 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Engineers collected water samples in the kitchens, bathrooms and water fountains of the schools, which were then sent to a lab for a full analysis.

Township officials recently received the results, assessed and peer-reviewed the data, and reported Friday that “there is absolutely no issue of concern.”

Township Engineer Thomas Herits, who is also the licensed water operator for the Belleville Water Department, said the lead results were either “ND,” showing no detection of any lead, or extremely below any contaminant levels that would prompt concern.

Mayor Michael Melham directed the township engineer’s office to carry out the testing last month, in the wake of neighboring Newark’s ongoing struggles with lead water contamination. The city recently embarked on a $120 million effort to replace thousands of privately owned residential lead service lines, one of the suspected sources of the contamination.

It's a costly endeavor, which has spurred Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and others to ask for federal assistance. The situation is similar in Belleville, where replacing the lead service pipes could cost up to $24 million, Melham previously said.

• See related article: Belleville Residents Drink 'Same Exact Water' As Newark, Mayor Says

Herits noted there are no lead service lines in the schools and, as such, there is no need to provide water filters.

Herits previously said there are no restrictions on Belleville residents in terms of drinking the tap water, and there is no reason to believe there are elevated levels of lead in the water the town receives from the Pequannock Reservoir.

• See related article: Belleville Monitors Its Own Water As Newark Deals With Lead Woes

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