A water leak in the wall of the high school band room could lead to mold remediation, Lehighton Area School District officials said Monday. The incident, discovered late last week, set off a chain of quick responses and strategic planning to address the situation promptly, according to Justin Smith, the district’s director of facilities.

“The problem originated from a cast iron pipe in the cafeteria kitchen area, connected to a PVC pipe running down the wall,” Smith said.

The failure of the pipe within the walls led to water leakage, initially unnoticed due to the amount of stuff in the closet.

Fortunately, Smith said, the lead on the high school custodial team raised the alarm, allowing for early detection.

“Upon investigation, it was revealed that the 4-inch pipe has a drain or clean-out that was incorrectly placed on the wrong side of the wall behind the lockers in the hallway,” Smith said. “That made it inaccessible.”

Smith outlined the steps taken and the plans moving forward during Monday’s board workshop. The first measures include getting an insurance claim underway for mold remediation.

“Once we get the lockers off the back side of the room in the band room, we’ll have better access to the other side of the wall to see how much mold we have,” Smith said. “If there is a good thing right now it is that the room isn’t being used. We can lock off both the areas where we suspect there is mold in the wall.”

Lehighton has requested two quotes for the plumbing work it will take to remedy the situation.

“I surmise the problem is going to be the PVC piping not the cast iron,” Smith said. “Just because of the amount of hot water coming down there, I think it failed at the joints. We were down there today and had a rag tied around it to prevent it from going on the floor and it was actually running down the outside of the pipe.”

Board President Jeremy Glaush commended Smith and the facilities staff for their expedited response to the issue.

“The speed at which you take care of it is awesome,” Glaush said. “It’s never good to get bad news, but knowing you are on it makes us feel better.”