Area schools are working to move beyond the summer and fall’s lead scares, wrapping up testing and fixture replacement and setting new policies on how to test for the toxic substance in the future.
Prompted by lead-contaminated drinking water samples at schools in Portland and elsewhere in Washington, local districts ran their own tests seeking lead in potable water sources.
Most districts have moved on from the scare, replacing fixtures and planning to test for lead as part of their long-term maintenance plans.
Battle Ground Public Schools, which faced delays in test results due to local labs being swamped with water samples, identified lead at 16 of its buildings and campuses, including one faucet at Pleasant Valley Primary School that tested at 303 parts per billion — more than 20 times the federally recommended limit of 15 parts per billion.
District spokeswoman Rita Sanders said those fixtures have been replaced and samples resubmitted to the lab for final testing. The district is still replacing fixtures at Battle Ground High School, where five fountains and 132 faucets tested positive for lead.
So far, there is no long-term plan to continue testing at the district.
“We haven’t talked about what the next steps are,” she said. “Testing is still voluntary.”
Vancouver Public Schools, meanwhile, is in the process of testing every water source in school kitchens, spokeswoman Pat Nuzzo said. Anderson, Chinook, Eisenhower, Felida, Sacajawea and Salmon Creek elementary schools; Alki and Jefferson middle schools; and Columbia River and Skyview high schools are all in the clear.
“Of those 10 schools tested so far, they have not had any of the consumable water sources come back over the allowable limit,” Nuzzo said.
Testing at the rest of the district’s schools is slated to be complete in January, Nuzzo said.
Camas Public Schools, which found lead at Dorothy Fox Elementary School and the Zellerbach Administration Center, implemented a three-year testing rotation, spokeswoman Doreen McKercher said. The district will cycle through testing the elementary schools, middle schools and high schools once every three years.
“It’s important that we keep our kids safe and that everyone has clean drinking water that is available to all,” McKercher said.
Ridgefield Public Schools maintenance and operations manager Neil Brinson said the district was in the process of setting up yearly testing, and is working with a consultant to develop a testing schedule. Like Camas, the district will likely test a portion of fixtures each year on a rotating schedule.
Drinking water tests conducted in Hockinson, La Center, Washougal and Woodland found no problems. Evergreen Public Schools only found lead at Image Elementary School, and all fixtures have been replaced and testing completed, district spokeswoman Gail Spolar said.
