Some residents remain uneasy about how long high levels of lead have been contaminating the water at 30 schools.
NEWARK -- Officials continue to formulate a plan to ensure water at nearly half of Newark's schools will once again be safe to drink, but the road to and from just how the city arrived at this point and how it will return to normal remains a matter of debate.
One day after revealing that dangerously high traces of lead had been found in water at 30 schools, the city's state-controlled school district said it had no timetable for when the supplies might be remediated, and was focusing a majority of its efforts on supplying clean alternatives to students and staff.
In addition to gathering and delivering bottled water to the affected schools, officials said they were teaming with the state Department of Environmental Protection to take additional samples from water at every district building, review past testing data and ensure that students and their families had adequate access to blood testing.
"Ensuring the health and well-being of our students in the immediate days and weeks has been, and will continue to be the primary driver in our decision to bring drinking water into 30 schools," it said in a statement. "This will continue to be our number one priority in the days ahead."
Feds pitching in: EPA, DEP addressing lead levels at Newark schools
Officials have stressed that the traces of lead found in the schools do not compare to those in crisis-stricken Flint, Mich., and said it appears the contamination likely came from piping or solder in the aging buildings rather than the city-wide water system.
The assurances, however, have failed to erase anxieties from some residents that young children may have unknowingly been ingesting the chemicals for weeks or even months.
"I am appalled, I am almost to the point of being agitated and angry at everybody trying to downplay this," said Rev. Ronald Slaughter during a Thursday night forum for city school board candidates at his parish, Newark's Saint James AME Church. "We have to ask, how long has that lead been there?"
The answer to the reverend's question is murky at best.
Superintendent of Schools Christopher Cerf and other city leaders have acknowledged that the state of infrastructure in the cash-strapped district -- including several schools well into their second century -- creates a heightened risk for contaminated water.
In an August 2014 memo obtained by NJ Advance Media, then-superintendent Cami Anderson told school leaders that lead reduction filters would be placed on all water fountains and faucets used for food preparation at schools built prior to 2006.
In the same missive, custodians were ordered to allow the water sources to run for at least two minutes prior to each school day to flush out any contaminants, and principals were asked to have all students and faculty to run fountains for at least 30 seconds before drinking water.
Valerie Wilson, the school district's business administrator, said Wednesday that the filters were still in use on fountains around the city, but district officials declined to answer whether flushing and other preventative measures were still being practiced.
Water samples from all schools undergo testing annually, according to school officials, but results from prior years have not been made public. A reporter who asked for testing data returned in 2015 was told to file a formal records request.
Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex), who has been pushing state legislation to help prevent lead hazards, said he was satisfied with how both city and district officials responded after learning about the contamination. He submitted, however, that questions remained about how lead-laden water had so suddenly made its way into nearly half the city's schools.
"It could be coincidental, though 30 is quite a number to pop up all at once," he said. "The DEP is going to take a look at this stuff. We'll see what the outcome of that is, and then we'll see what questions we need to be raised."
Water fountains at all affected schools have been shut off, and students and staff are relying on donated bottled water for both cooking and drinking. It remains unclear how long it might take for taps to be cleared for use, or how the perpetually cash-poor district will fund the necessary repairs.
Other schools continue to operate as normal, though East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador said he planned to call on the state to ease any concerns about students at those schools as soon as possible.
"The state needs to send a letter to this city indicating or showing the status of each school in terms of the lead condition," he said.
Many city officials, however, said they believed the city was doing its best to tackle a problem that was inevitable given what many view as blatant neglect of its school properties.
"We've spent a lot of money in the school systems and it seems most of the money goes to teachers salaries," said At-Large Councilman Carlos Gonzalez.
"We are not putting, I believe, adequate funds in the infrastructure. I am surprised we don't have more problems with the water, being contaminated not by the system, but by the schools themselves. They're so old."
Dan Ivers may be reached at divers@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DanIversNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.