This recent Water Quality Products post provides some information and resources to help schools assess, test and improve their drinking water quality. Among the information included is the three main sources of lead contamination in schools:
1. Lead service lines connecting the building plumbing systems to the public water distribution system (found most commonly in buildings constructed prior to 1950)
2. Lead solder used in copper piping systems prior to 1986
3. Lead-containing brass or galvanized pipe and fittings not certified to the NSF/ANSI 61 standard (most commonly products manufactured prior to the mid-1990s)
Water moving through the sources listed above can result in lead contamination over the legal allowable 0.25% or less weighted average.
Given the problems discovered at schools around the nation recently, it’s a smart idea for all schools to test their drinking water and make any necessary improvements or replacements.
