Merrimack, NH School System Water Filtration

Saint Gobain

3,800 children attend the Merrimack public schools which have tested positive for the presence of the chemical PFOA. The school board has reviewed research about the impact of this chemical on children and have unanimously concluded that water supplies that children receive drinking and cooking water from should be filtered as a protective and precautionary measure. Ongoing independent PFOA water test results have varied in each of the 6 schools with a high of 45 ppt noted.  The school board has met with consultants to choose a design that is the most fiscally responsible and has concluded that $128,590 is necessary to fund a water filtration system for all 6 public schools.  The school board has recently voted to include this cost in the annual budget which was accepted on 4/10/18. It is the belief of tax payers of Merrimack that this should not be a cost to us but should be paid by the corporation that enjoys the residency of our town and has steadily utilized and continues to utilize PFAS in production for approximately 15 years.

To: Saint Gobain
From: [Your Name]

We the residents and tax payers of Merrimack, NH are requesting Saint Gobain to filter our public school water systems at the identified cost to the school district of $128,590. We believe that the independent water supply testing for the presence of PFOA completed by the school district biannually since 2016 shows an unacceptable presence of this chemical in all 6 of our schools;
our children are a vulnerable population and precautionary measures must be taken to decrease their exposure. The Merrimack school board has recently voted to include this amount in the upcoming annual budget.
It is our belief as a community that we, the tax payers, should not bear this expense and that you, as a company who has utilized this class of chemicals in production without our awareness for an estimated exposure time of approximately 15 years, should as a gesture of good will fund this decision. We are aware that Saint Gobain agreed to fund the filtration of the school well in Hoosick Falls in 2016 where results of water testing at nondetect were far lower than the varying Merrimack school Water PFOA test results which have fluctuated up to 45 ppt.