As you may have seen in recent months, there have been reports locally and nationally of elevated lead levels in water at schools. In the spring we decided to test all potable water sources (water suitable for drinking) in our schools as a precautionary measure.
Districtwide, 98 percent of the 3,109 tested samples were in compliance. Two percent of the tested samples, that is 72 fixtures districtwide, returned with levels at or above 15 parts per billion (ppb). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that remedial action is taken at 20 ppb. However, we take action at 15 ppb.
Of the 72 fixtures:
- 43 fixtures tested at the EPA action level of 20 ppb
- 29 fixtures tested at the district action level of 15ppb
All fixtures that tested at or above 15 ppb were immediately taken out of service and either (1) remedial actions were taken, such as replacing the fixture, and an additional test was conducted, or (2) the fixture was permanently capped. Fixtures that were permanently capped were identified as low use, in buildings soon to be demolished, or they failed to be compliant after remedial action was taken and additional testing conducted.
To access additional information on water quality testing in our district, including school results from this this spring and summer testing cycle, visit the district’s Water Quality Testing webpage.