School Water Safety Issues Resolved

By Jack Abrahmson

Water fountains at Lamoille Union High School have had an unsaid stigma, whether it’s the taste or the temperature, students have been skeptical about how safe it really is. 

According to  Dylan LaFlam, Lamoille Union’s facility director, water at Lamoille Union is completely safe to drink. The fountains are tested often for dangerous chemicals. 

The tests include lead, copper, arsenic, calcium, magnesium, volatile organic compounds (VOC), and synthetic organic compounds (SOC). Tests on the water are performed daily, quarterly, biannually, and yearly. Data from the tests are listed at the Agency of Natural Resources website. 

Right now Lamoille Union is working on an initiative to replace all of the water fountains with new machines, many of which have already been replaced. The new water fountains have a compressor that keeps the water colder.

Lamoille Union switched to a new well recently as well. The old well had an extremely high chlorine content. Chloride is not dangerous for human consumption, but over time it eats away at metal leading to a lot of money that was spent on new heating and water systems at the school.

Lamoille decommissioned the old well, and moved to our backup well, as every school is required to have two wells. The well that the school is currently using is about 1600 feet from the old one. According to LaFlam, “it [new well] pumps about 50 gallons per minute, which is more than enough.” 

For many students this was new information. One student said it’s good that “they’re trying to get better at checking it annually.” ‘

Many students still won’t use the water fountains at all because they believe it’s dangerous to drink, “Not the safest, not flint Michigan bad, but the ones without filters are just nasty in general.”

Fresh clean water is a priority for the Lamoille school system, and all school systems in general. It’s important to stay hydrated throughout a school day, so if you do not own a water bottle,using the water fountains is perfectly safe.

If you have any questions or concerns about the water in the building, talk to Dylan LaFlam.