Jefferson County schools working to address asbestos in drinking water

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Asbestos in drinking water has been an ongoing problem in Jefferson County. Now the school district is taking action.

A test conducted in July left community members in Brockway worried to use water in their faucets. It causes them to spend the extra money on bottled water instead or in some cases, households are investing in whole-house filtration systems.

In July, a letter was sent to Brockway residents and businesses informing them that a recent test showed high levels of asbestos in the water, something that community members want to see the borough working to fix.

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“I was reading it. I’m like, okay, what’s going on here? Why are we dealing with this? What’s going to happen? Because I have a one-year-old and I am pregnant and I know that’s not good for either of us, and it’s not good for anyone in general,” Brockway Resident Angel Johnson said.

Residents like Angel took to social media to voice opinions and most comments expressed concerns for their kids. Quickly following the letter, the Brockway School District put a plan in place.

“As a district, the board decided that we need to see what was available and what we could do,” Brockway School District Superintendent Brian Mulhollan said.

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The schools are installing filters at each point where water is utilized.

“All of our hot water now will have a filter on them of microns, which is what they recommend as well as every cold water line. That’s going to be the point of use. So that would be your water fountains, you classrooms where water is consumed, that would be the cafeteria where food is prepared or you know things are cleaned,” Mulhollan said.

But what about the borough, beyond the schools? The local water authority has not announced any action plans yet. This means clean water is still an extra cost on top of their water bill.

“So that’s really hard for us money-wise because, I mean, having now almost two kids, having to get stuff for them as well as doing the water thing, that’s just ridiculous,” Johnson said.

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