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LEAD IN THE WATER Source of high lead levels at Jackson, Roosevelt remains unknown New tests show low levels, Medford district says Comment Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT MailTribune.com Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Aug. 10, 2016 at 6:33 PM Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Aug. 10, 2016 at 6:33 PM » Social News Medford School District officials are still trying to determine the source of high lead levels found in the water at Jackson and Roosevelt elementary schools three weeks ago. Last week, the Medford Water Commission pulled out the meters at both schools and drew samples from the service line between the meter and the water main. Of the 32 samples taken at Jackson and the 26 samples taken at Roosevelt, they submitted a total of 23 to Neilson Research Corp. for analysis and then replaced the meters at both schools with newer, more accurate meters. The results from these tests were released Tuesday and all were under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold for public water systems of 15 parts per billion. The highest reading was 11 ppb, but most tested around 1 ppb, said Sara Bristol, the commission’s public information coordinator. “It definitely shows that our part of the service line is not the source of the problem,” Bristol said. The district tested the water from 47 fixtures at Roosevelt on July 12 and 49 fixtures at Jackson on July 19. Of those, 38 at Roosevelt and 36 at Jackson had lead levels exceeding the EPA’s action level for schools of 20 ppb, some as high as nine times the limit. If it had been the water going into the building, it would have been high everywhere, Bristol said. Ron Havniear, the district’s facilities and support services manager, described the tests as “snapshots in time” and said that, although the tests show that the water taken at the meter on Aug. 2 and Aug. 4 was good, “they don’t necessarily give us a picture of what the water was three weeks ago.” The district has since shut off the water to the corrupt fixtures; distributed water bottles to the Kids Unlimited staff and kids using the buildings; and, on July 31, retested the fixtures with the highest readings and the fixtures in the schools closest to the meter. Results from the July 31 tests showed that the fixtures with highest lead levels were no longer emitting high levels of lead, said Havniear. Fixtures at Roosevelt that tested at 184 and 105 parts per billion on July 12, tested at less than 2 and 3 parts per billion on July 31. Similarly, fixtures at Jackson that tested at 154 and 139 parts per billion on July 19, tested at 2.55 and 1.98 parts per billion on July 31. “It’s an anomaly,” Havniear said. “They are new schools with new plumbing, and the city’s tests show the water was good … so whatever (caused the elevated lead levels) was an anomaly.” Nonetheless, the district went ahead and replaced some suspect plumbing components at both schools with certified, lead-free components that meet today’s standards and, this week, retested every fixture in the buildings to see whether the problem was resolved, Havinear said. Results from this round of tests should be available by the end of the week, he said. The district also flushed the entire system Wednesday for 90 minutes and pulled an additional 15 samples to use for comparative analysis. “Unless the results come back good, we will continue to look at the data and do some comparison and continue to work through the process of elimination," Havniear said. "And, in the meantime, we will continue to provide an adequate and safe supply of water.” Reach education reporter Teresa Thomas at 541-776-4497 or [email protected] . Follow her at www.twitter.com/teresathomas_mt . Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT MailTribune.com Teresa Thomas Mail Tribune Follow @@teresathomas_MT Posted Aug. 10, 2016 at 6:33 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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