Although DEQ helps oversee the program, the rule’s enforcement falls to DPHHS. Ebelt said the deadline was set before the pandemic and covid slowed that work for many schools.
He said a total of 308 schools had submitted an inventory of their buildings’ plumbing fixtures and more samples had been coming in. As of Feb. 28, 293 schools had provided samples. Not all results have been posted.
“We plan to be flexible with the deadline and will continue to work with schools,” Ebelt said.
Classroom and bathroom sinks were more likely than any other type of fixture to have high levels of lead. Of all the drinking fountains tested, 20% tested high enough to need flushing or get turned off, according to state environmental officials. Schools don’t have a deadline to make repairs, though some have taken anything whose water tested over 5 ppb out of service.
Nationwide, no one has tracked how many lead pipes deliver water to homes, schools, and businesses, let alone tested every faucet for traces of the neurotoxin. At least seven states — California, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, and Virginia — require school districts to test for lead and report elevated levels to parents, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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