Philadelphia Expands Tests For Lead In School District Drinking Water

The Philadelphia School District recently decided to expand its drinking water program after detecting high levels of lead in nearly 50 school drinking outlets.

This past August, the district originally announced that it would reevaluate drinking water outlets for lead concentration levels in just 40 schools throughout Philadelphia. NewsWorks.org reported that the district now plans to test the water at each of its 200-plus schools over the next 18 months.

The school district formed a Safe Drinking Water Technical Advisory Committee in May, according to PhillyVoice. Experts from the Philadelphia Water Department, U.S. EPA, Philadelphia Public Health Department, and Philadelphia Federations of Teachers Union Health and Welfare Fund make up the committee.

According to Philadelphia Magazine, city officials had “praised” the decision to test the water.

“The school district’s plan to retest drinking water across its schools is critically important for Philadelphia’s students especially in light of concerns here and across the country about water quality and water access,” said Councilwoman Helen Gym in a statement, obtained by Philadelphia Magazine. “The threat of lead in aging buildings reminds us all that investments in school infrastructure cannot be budgetary afterthoughts.”

Between 2000 and 2010 the school district had tested every drinking water outlet via the Safe Drinking Water Program, “replacing or remediating those that tested positive for elevated lead,” per NewsWorks.

Philly.com reported in August that early results showed “about 20 percent of some 12,000 water outlets in 170 schools tested had high lead levels.” Because of these findings, the district closed some of its water fountains and provided bottled water instead.

At the time of the original plan of testing, officials had said that they were targeting older schools with younger students, according to NewsWorks. Officials also said that “they had no reason to suspect district students were at risk,” adding that the testing was meant to ease worry brought on by the crisis in Flint, MI.

According to NewsWorks, the school district has since tested the water at 26 schools and has results from 22 of those schools. 86 percent of water outlets have passed and the other 14 percent have failed.

The district has tested 361 outlets and found 49 with a lead concentration greater than 15 ppb, NewsWorks reported, the minimum threshold for lead content established by the district.

The water outlets that were found to have unacceptable levels of lead were shut off within 24 hours, according to NewsWorks. The outlets can be turned back on, but they have to be fixed and pass required tests.

“We have developed a water program that focuses on providing safe, accessible and appealing water for students in every school,” said Fran Burns, the district’s chief operating officer, in a statement obtained by NewsWorks. “Testing for lead concentration, installing hydration stations and promoting education on healthy lifestyles are key aspects of our plan. Over the next 18 months, the district will retest every drinking water outlet in every school."

The district would spend about $1.5 million on its lead-testing program, Burns said in an interview.

“We also are reassured by the fact that 86 percent are below the actionable level and that, immediately, if something is above, we take that water outlet out of service, and we will either remediate, repair or replace,” Burns told NewsWorks.