Testing for lead shows that water in Woodland’s schools is safe to drink, the district said Thursday.
The district’s certified plumber gathered samples from all buildings during May, and the district received the test results this week.
“The test samples for all of the district’s schools came back within the Washington State Department of Health’s allowable limit with water at all sites considered safe for drinking,” according to district officials.
The threshold for lead in water is 15 parts per billion. Woodland had only one sample with detectable lead, and it was measured at 2.9 parts per billion, said Scott Landrigan, the district’s director of facilities and safety.
Since the schools are served by the city water system, the test results indicate that “our system looks really good,” Landrigan said.
“Water testing was deemed necessary as more school districts in the area are finding issues in their water, and we wanted to ensure that our water was safe and healthy for children and staff,” Superintendent Michael Green said in a press release.
Regular water testing will continue in the future, Green said.
Clark County school districts are still in the process of testing drinking water for elevated lead content after several Tacoma schools reported high lead content in school water last month. High lead levels have also been detected in Portland schools.
In results reported so far:
• Camas School District reported May 27 that tests found lead content above allowable limits in a drinking fountain in Room 3 at Dorothy Fox Elementary School and a sink in the Zellerbach Administration Center. A district press release said operations staff disconnected both water sources, which were infrequently used. The district also disconnected four additional, less frequently used water fountains at Dorothy Fox, in Rooms 9, 11, 12 and 19. Bottled water is available for students.
Operations staff will test all of the water sources in Dorothy Fox Elementary. The results will likely come back toward the end of the school year. All of the drinking fountains at the elementary school will be replaced over the summer, and the water will be tested to ensure the issue has been corrected, the district said.
• Vancouver Public Schools tested water in all schools and district facilities. Of the 47 sites tested, the district reported 32 had no lead detected at all. Where lead was detected, levels were far below allowable limits. The Vancouver district is retesting the water at any sites that had any amount of lead, said Mick Hoffman, the district’s assistant superintendent, chief of operations.
• Washougal School District Superintendent Mike Stromme said one drinking fountain at Excelsior High School tested positive for lead, but at levels within the safe zone. Lead wasn’t detected in any other water source in the district, Stromme said.
• Evergreen Public Schools began collecting water samples late last month from all water sources, including potable water in drinking fountains and water from sinks in chemistry labs, at all schools and facilities, said Gail Spolar, district spokeswoman. The results should be available by the end of the school year.
• Ridgefield School District is preparing to begin testing for lead soon, according to an email from Neil Brinson, maintenance and operations manager. Brinson wrote that the district has contacted a local company to handle the testing, which will be done in all four schools.
• Battle Ground Public Schools will test all school water for lead this summer.
• Hockinson School District did not respond to recent requests for information.
