An email sent by Head of School Rabbi Mitchel Malkus this afternoon announced that after testing a total of 266 sources of water in both campuses in accordance with a new Maryland law, a total of four non-drinking water outlets contained elevated lead levels.

Both campuses sampled all of their water outlets and were “analyzed by an independent, state-certified laboratory,” and were below the newly-established limit of 20 parts per billion (ppb), according to Malkus’ email.

The Maryland General Assembly recently passed House Bill 270, which took effect on July 1 of last year, mandating that private and public schools in Maryland test all their sources of water for lead contamination on an annual basis to ensure their drinking safety.

The outlets with higher levels included two bathroom sinks in the Lower School campus and one non-drinking source in the athletic training room at the Upper School. All three of those outlets’ fixtures have been replaced and “disabled” for the moment, and will not be reopened until the arrival of newly-conducted samples, according to the email.

The fourth outlet is in a science classroom in the upper school and contains a placard indicating that it is not safe to drink from.

Associate Head of School and High School Principal Marc Lindner said that he is satisfied with the job that CESJDS has performed in conducting these tests and in following the new Maryland law that he believes is a beneficial mandate for Maryland schools. Linder also said that JDS will continue to abide by the regulations under the new Maryland statute, and annually test water outlets as required.

“I am pleased that we are following the new Maryland law and guidelines with respect to testing the water in the building, and the results, to me, seem to indicate that the drinking water is absolutely safe in the building,” Lindner said.