The nonprofit organization behind a report identifying lead in school water across New York State is now allowing students, parents, teachers and lawmakers to view that data on a more granular scale.
The New York Public Interest Research Group released a new interactive map that identifies fixtures used for drinking and food prep building by building that exceeds the state's action level of 5 parts per billion.
Among the most striking local findings is Forestville Elementary School in Chautauqua County, where 45 of 78 tested outlets — nearly 58% — were above 5 ppb.
In Erie County, Frontier Senior High School had 49 of 194 tested outlets above 5 ppb, the largest number among Erie County schools in data provided by NYPIRG. Buffalo’s Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center followed with 47 of 207 outlets above the threshold.
Other Erie County schools also showed relatively high shares of affected outlets. At Cloverbank Elementary, 43 of 116 outlets — about 37% — exceeded 5 ppb. Eden Junior/Senior High School had 37 of 104, or nearly 36%, while 43 of 135 outlets at Windom Elementary were above the threshold.
The school-level information builds on NYPIRG’s “Get the Lead Out New York” report released in September.
BTPM previously reported that the report found 42% of school buildings statewide — more than 1,900 — had at least one drinking or cooking outlet above 5 ppb. More than 12,000 outlets exceeded the threshold.
Western New York already stood out in the county-level findings. Chautauqua County had 50 of 63 schools — 79.4% — with at least one affected outlet. Erie County had 142 of 202 schools, or 70.3%.
The new data goes a step further by showing where those exceedances occurred school by school.
NYPIRG Senior Policy Advisor Blair Horner said there are regional differences, but cautioned against viewing the findings as a problem isolated to Western New York.
“It’s not so much a regional problem, although there are differences among the regions. It’s a statewide problem,” Horner said.
Still, researchers with NYPIRG hope stakeholders will use the map's findings to influence policy change by taking their concerns to their elected officials.
"There's a drop-down menu about what district you're looking for, and when you go in that particular legislative district, not only has the details of the school, it also tells you tells you who the legislator is and how you contact them," Horner said.
What the numbers do — and don’t — show
The school-level results come with an important limitation: They do not necessarily describe the water coming from those outlets today.
Horner said NYPIRG’s map draws from the most recent testing information available through the state, but a school’s latest publicly available result could already be years old.
“We’re looking at the most recent test results for that particular school, but that data could be two years old,” Horner said. “So it’s not necessarily the current conditions at that particular school.”
New York requires public schools, charter schools and BOCES to test potable outlets used or potentially used for drinking and cooking every three years. Outlets testing above 5 ppb require action, and schools must make sampling results and remediation information publicly available. The state is currently in its 2026-2028 testing cycle.
Horner said examples of lead reappearing after schools have gone through testing and remediation raise questions about whether New York’s existing “test-and-fix” system is sufficient.
“There are enough examples of recurrence that I think underscores the failure of the existing program,” Horner said.
NYPIRG wants the state to move toward a “filter-first” approach in which water used for drinking, cooking or food preparation would be filtered as a preventive measure rather than relying primarily on periodic testing followed by remediation.
BPS says required remediation was completed
In response to questions from BTPM about the new findings, Buffalo Public Schools said its currently posted lead-testing results come from the state’s 2023-2025 compliance cycle.
The district said “all remediation activities were conducted” according to New York State Department of Health guidance applicable to that testing cycle.
BPS said schools are now in the 2026-2028 compliance cycle and that the results currently posted on its website will remain available until testing during the new cycle is completed and updated results are received and published.
Under current state guidance, schools are required to document outlets exceeding 5 ppb, when those outlets were taken out of service, what remedial actions were taken and any post-remediation sampling results.
BTPM also reached out to the Forestville Central School District for additional information about the results at Forestville Elementary, as well as the New York State Department of Health for information about the testing program, remediation and state oversight. Neither had responded as of publication.
Horner said NYPIRG hopes making the school-level data easier to access will give parents and educators another tool to press for answers about their own buildings.
“This tool that we’re putting out today allows the average parent or educator that’s concerned about their particular school to ask the questions that need to be asked,” he said.
