Two water sources in the Camas School District tested positively for elevated levels of lead, and two other sources are close to the trigger/action level set by the state, according to the district’s test numbers.
After notifying the public about the two positive tests on Friday, the district released all of the water test results Tuesday.
The Washington State Department of Health’s trigger/action level is 20 parts per billion, and Room 3 at Dorothy Fox Elementary School tested at 58 parts per billion. A sink in the Zellerbach Administration Center tested at 22 parts per billion.
Those were the only two positive tests that came back from the 61 water sources the district tested when looking at schools built before 2000 — Dorothy Fox Elementary, Lacamas Heights Elementary, Liberty Middle School and Skyridge Middle School, and the administration and transportation buildings — according to a note the district sent home to parents on Friday.
The test numbers reveal that two other water sources in the district are close to the trigger level, as well.
At Lacamas Heights, a classroom in the 200 pod tested at 19 parts per billion. At Liberty, a classroom in the 300 wing also tested at 19 parts per billion.
District spokeswoman Doreen McKercher wrote in an email that the district wants to make sure the results from those rooms are accurate, so they will be re-tested. If the numbers hold, those drinking fountains will be replaced, she wrote.
The district wants to re-test first because it’s likely the water hadn’t been used in more than 18 hours, and state guidelines for school tests say the water needs to sit in the plumbing system for at least eight hours but no longer than 18, McKercher wrote.
The next test in those locations will be conducted in a more controlled environment. According to the note sent home to parents, “water that remains in pipes for extend periods of time tends to collect the materials surrounding it.”
The water fountains tested at Dorothy Fox were only ones still around from when the school was built in the early 1980s, but the district will now test all the remaining water sources at the school. The water fountains original to the school will be replaced this summer at a cost of about $1,700, according to McKercher.
Both water sources that tested positively were disconnected, and bottled water is available for the students, according to the note from the district.
