LEAD CONTAMINATION AT NORTHPORT SCHOOL DISTRICT SIGNIFIES THE CRISIS AT HAND

Assemblyman Andrew Raia recently spoke out about a crisis taking place in his district. The lead

Andrew Raia

contamination crisis that made national headlines in Detroit has quietly taken the Hudson Valley region by storm, and is now impacting the Northport school district. Recent testing showed  high levels of lead  in 12 different drinking fountains used by children in the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District.

“The discovery of high levels of lead in our children’s drinking water should give pause to every person in this community,” said Raia. “This is the result of not learning from the lessons of others. We saw the crisis in Detroit, and the terrible conditions that resulted from rotting infrastructure funneling lead-contaminated water into homes and schools, and Albany has taken very little action to change course.”

Raia sponsored legislation (A.10740) that requires schools to periodically test their water supplies for lead contamination and provides funding for remediation, which would otherwise be extremely costly to school districts. This legislation is critical to prevent any cases of cost superseding the necessity of testing for lead in water supplies, and will ensure the health and safety of communities and their drinking water comes before anything else. Raia has also been an advocate for legislation to require new, lead-free pipes that would safely and securely transport water for consumption.

“Nothing is more important to the health of our families than the water they drink,” said Raia. “I will continue to fight for recognition of this issue as a crisis that could become far more severe, as well as legislation that will actively seek to identify and replace the problematic infrastructure that is carrying contaminated water throughout our communities.  The safety of Suffolk County families is my number one priority, and I will do everything possible to ensure their water is clean and safe.”