The Lansing School District tested more than 30 buildings in the school district, and superintendent Yvonne Caamal Canul says that the results from nearly 300 recent water tests show the Lansing school buildings are "lead safe" and there is no danger of lead contamination to students that drink water in any Lansing schools.
The district hired Tri-Terra, an environmental company to conduct the water testing. The last time the district tested the water was in 2004.
Tri-terra worked with the Lansing Board of Water and Light, and the City of Lansing to test the district's water. The testing began on January 22, 2016 inside Lansing school buildings and the results of the tests were reviewed within 24 hours.
Superintendent Yvonne Camaal-Canul "The safety of our students, staff and families is a top priority for the school district. When we started testing I was very concerned that because of the advanced age of many of our school buildings, we might have a lead issue somewhere that could have exposed children or might need extensive, expensive action. We did need to take minor action in a few very limited locations, but children were never in danger and the actionable items were not expensive. We changed a faucet in a little used area and just to be safe, we even changed a few nearby drinking fountains to make sure the water
quality is good. Overall, the water results are good news for Lansing students, parents and staff."
During testing, the Lansing Board of Water and Light confirmed they didn't have any lead service lines going into school buildings. Lead can accumulate in pipes or faucets where lead is used as solder in joints.
Sexton High school recorded a .016 parts per million near a little used site in the basement of the building. The EPA level for actionable exposure is .015 PPM. A follow up test on the main line reported lead safe results below action levels.
Wainwright, Woodcreek, Mt. Hope and Grand River (home to a Head Startprogram) also recorded a location fractionally above EPA levels, but water lines were flushed, plumbing fixtures were replaced and testing will continue to monitor those buildings.
The total cost of the water testing is expected to be about $20,000. Superintendent Camaal Canul says the effort is a good investment to ensure safe drinking water for students.
