If you have ever drank water here at HSTAT, odds are you have come across a water fountain that’s filter is anything but green.

Students have been posing questions regarding the water systems here at HSTAT, and more than once, the question has been raised as to whether the water is safe to drink.

“It has a metallic taste to it, and whenever I refill my water bottle it looks cloudy,” says 11th grader Ashley Esqueda.

Frank Settanni is the school’s head custodian and has held that position for four years, and he provided insight on the conversation around water fountains.

“Overall I think NYC tap water is safe to drink and also based on our testing results from earlier this year, which is safe to drink from. NYC has very strict water testing policies and very strict measurement policies, there can’t be any trace of anything in order for the fountains to pass, even the bathroom fountains.”

Settanni goes on to share how testing works in the city.

“They test everything and they’re very strict about anything that could be in the water, you know, not just lead but any sort of trace of anything. So based on those test results, I would say the water is very safe to drink.”

The building was founded in 1915 and as a result, a large number of the pipes are old and composed primarily of lead that can contaminate the water.

According to a recent NYCDOE report, “New York City water is virtually lead-free when it is delivered from the City’s upstate reservoir system. Sometimes, however, water can absorb lead from fixtures, faucets, and fittings.”

If HSTAT is lead-free, what does the red status mean?

Fountain filters will go on red, leading many students to conclude that the water is undrinkable and unsafe because the filter has not been changed. Students will see this and either find a new fountain to drink from or just not refill their bottle.

Most recently, we have installed new filters; when they go red the water ia still drinkable, just that timer set in the fountains went off, but ultimately doesn’t mean any danger to students.

“What used to happen was when it was red, the water level would be almost nothing, so it was designed so that when it was time to change it, like it was dirty, the water wouldn’t work, so we installed the new filters, it would still go red, but the water still works,” says Assistant Principal of Organization Mr. DeMartini.

“Even though the indicator timer is still on it doesn’t mean any harm, it just indicates that the timers are on. We would have to keep changing filters which were expensive and too hard to get, so what was happening was many of the fountains weren’t working well, so the solution was to go with the permanent filter.”

Students are still skeptical about drinking the school water, even though it has been made clear that our water is safe to drink.