Testing for Safe Drinking Water Brings Good Result for Our District
Concerns about water quality in schools and communities have been a matter of state and national discussion. Of specific interest has been the levels of lead as the public has become aware of the possibility of lead from older plumbing systems leaching into drinking water systems.
Because of city-wide upgrades in the past two decades in the Butte Falls city water infrastructure, we can be confident that water piped to our schools is lead-free. What happens once the water arrives to each building, however, depends on the condition of pipes and fixtures in the building.
Given that our school facilities have been around for a while, the district has conducted water quality testing to confirm that water consumed on-site is safe for drinking. This past month samples of water were collected from sinks and drinking fountains at the elementary and secondary campuses and the District Office building. The samples were sent to Neilson Research Corporation for analysis. The results are in and the report is very good. All faucets and fountains tested at both schools and the District Office tested significantly below the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action level of .020 parts per billion.
The District also tested the faucets and fixtures in the Rogue Community Health Center which is located in the District Administrative building. All but two faucets met the rigorous EPA standard. While those two faucets barely exceeded the action level, they have been taken out of service until retest results can confirm whether a problem exists with them. If the retest meets the EPA standard, access to these fixtures will be restored. Otherwise the District will determine the cause and eliminate it before restoring access. Even with these fixtures out of service, the Rogue Community Health Center continues to have sufficient, convenient access to drinking water.
A copy of the results of the water tests are available for public review at the District Office at 720 Laurel Avenue, Butte Falls, Oregon.