Good afternoon Putnam Valley Community:
I am writing as a follow-up to a message that was originally shared with the Putnam Valley School Community on December 28, 2020. As noted in that communication (click here) a new law required school districts to begin testing their drinking water for two specific chemicals (PFOA & PFOS), by February 28, 2021. The Putnam Valley School District was one of the first in the region to begin this required testing on October 22, 2020.
Test results at Putnam Valley Elementary School revealed that our water was still acceptable for all uses, including drinking, but was above the level that required the district to pursue remediation of the found contaminants (details included below). Upon receiving these results, the district contacted the Putnam County Department of Health and contracted with an engineering firm to design a carbon filtration system that would eliminate any contaminants from our drinking water. At the time of the water test, the district was already using bottled water as part of our COVID health protocols and has continued to offer only bottled or filtered water (bottle-filling stations) through the present time. The water at the Middle School/High School campus is not part of this testing as their water comes from a municipal source.
In February 2021, the District was approached by a law firm seeking our participation in a class action lawsuit against those manufacturers who are now known to have produced the materials that contained these chemicals. On May 4, 2021, the Putnam Valley Board of Education agreed to enter into this class action lawsuit, seeking to recoup any expenses related to the installation of the new carbon filtration system. This lawsuit was recently filed and named the Putnam Valley School District as a claimant. Our participation in the lawsuit comes at no expense to the District.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jeremy Luft
Superintendent of Schools