Haddon Township Schools Had Too Much Lead In Water: Database

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — The Haddon Township Public School District is one of 61 school districts statewide that had too much lead discovered in their water in recent years, according to a new state database. All the schools in the district were tested in April 2017, according to the database.

At that time, elevated levels of lead were found in three water outlets at two elementary schools in the district. Those schools were Jennings, where one outlet tested at 23.8; and Van Sciver, where one outlet tested at 17.4 and another tested at 33.3.

Elevated levels are any levels that exceed 15 parts per billion (ppb). All school districts that exceeded those levels had to sign a Statement of Assurance, saying the district would remediate the issues and provide alternative drinking water for students and staff in the interim. See Haddon Township’s full results here.

Gov. Phil Murphy announced on Thursday that the New Jersey Department of Education has launched a centralized database with lead-testing information from school districts. The database also allows anyone to look up their own district to see the results of the most recent testing.

This initiative is part of a three-pronged approach announced last month by Murphy, alongside Rep. Josh Gottheimer, R-Bergen, to strengthen the state's response to lead testing and the remediation of elevated lead levels in drinking water in New Jersey schools. Read more here: Lead In Water: New Database Shows Many NJ Schools Had Too Much