A vast majority of D.C. public schools continue to have a problem with elevated levels of lead in drinking water despite school officials setting aside $2 million to eliminate contamination this spring, according to a document obtained by The Examiner.
At least one water source remained tainted in 103 out of 144 city schools, a spreadsheet compiled by the D.C. Public Schools showed.
Schools spokeswoman Audrey Williams said Wednesday that all contaminated water sources, which include sinks, fountains and coolers, will be fixed by the fall under a $75 million repair “blitz” put in place by former Superintendent Clifford Janey in February. DCPS put about $2 million aside for repairs in April, but that money stretched only far enough to fix problems at roughly 40 DCPS-owned facilities, including schools and educational centers.
Contaminated drinking fountains and faucets will remain out of service until repairs are made and devices are retested. Affected schools will receive bottled water on a case-by-case basis, Williams said.
Office of Facilities Modernization Director Allen Lew is now responsible for the repairs under Mayor Adrian Fenty’s takeover of the system. The lead problem is one of many issues that Lew is expected to address at a news conference next week.
What is not clear is whether principals have been told that lead contamination continues in their schools. Gibbs Elementary Principal Kimberly Davis said she was certain her school had been cleared even after a water fountain was found covered with a bag to mark it out of service last week.
Test results obtained by The Examiner in April revealed that only 37 of the city’s 144 public schools tested at acceptable levels of lead in drinking water.
The worst offender in the lead test results was Eastern Senior High in Ward 6, where 70 percent of water sources tested for elevated lead levels, and West Elementary in Ward 4, where two-fifths of sinks, coolers and fountains contained elevated levels of lead. Repairs at Eastern were still outstanding, according to DCPS.
