NYC Parks announces lead testing for all drinking fountains
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Testing for lead is now underway on all drinking fountains in New York City parks.
According to Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, all 3,500 drinking fountains will be checked in the next seven weeks.
Silver says that there are currently not any known threats of elevated lead levels.
However, any fountain found to contain lead above the federal action level of 15 ppb will be immediately shut down and repaired.
It is part of "LeadFreeNYC", a citywide initiative to protect children from lead exposure.
"The Mayor's LeadFreeNYC program ensures that our children are safe whether they are at home, at school, or in our parks," Silver says, "and we are doing our part by testing all of our drinking fountains and putting a plan in place for annual testing, so that our water remains safe."
Beginning in mid-May, the public will be able to track the drinking fountain testing on an interactive map, which will show the status of each fountain as well as the results of each test.
NYC Parks will update the map weekly.
Click HERE for more information on the NYC Parks testing program.
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