Bristol Consolidated School is under a “do not drink” order after elevated levels of lead were found in a faucet at the farthest end of the building.
Facilities Director John Carroll said the date the lead was identified is unknown; the school was informed Oct. 26. Carroll provided an update during the Bristol School Committee meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5.
A semiannual testing conducted by Water Quality and Compliance Services Inc., of Wiscasset, found a faucet with an elevated lead count of 166 parts per billion, according to Carroll.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the standard for lead in drinking water is 15 parts per billion.
The company reported the results to the state immediately after the testing, according to Carroll.
“We tested the water, the faucet was removed, we did other work on the plumbing, (and) had it retested,” Carroll said. “It was not above the threshold, but still elevated to the point where we’re in a no-drink situation.”
According to the EPA, there is no safe level of lead exposure for children, a very small amount of lead can harm their health, and the current “reference level” is a screening threshold, not a safety limit.
“Before the 2020s, brass had a lot of lead in it because when they milled it and machined it, it made it smooth and nice brass. But they can’t do that anymore, because that’s one of the areas that lead leaches into the waters from brass fittings,” Carroll said. “One hundred years ago, when you put in a well, you put in a lead line because lead never goes bad, as we all found out.”
According to a document from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the school is required to collect source water samples and test for lead and copper from each active entry point to the distribution system within six months. It must also collect one source water sample for lead and copper from each active entry point to the distribution system within 60 days.
After the school was alerted, water fountains were covered with signs, and the kitchen was instructed not to cook with water.
According to Carroll, there is bottled water and coolers spread throughout the school.
“The next step will be retesting,” Carroll said. “Before we retest we have to do some work on the system.”
Carroll said he is unaware what the date retesting is going to begin.
“The school has softeners and a filtration system going through the water softening system, the softener heads were not at 100% so they were rebuilt, and had new beds, so they are back to fully operational, and there is a system to lower the potential of hydrogen, but the PH levels are fine,” according to Carroll.
Carroll hopes to have the school “lead free” by the beginning of December.
“The school remains in a no-drink situation until you’re back to zero,” he said.
The Bristol School Committee will next meet at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3 at BCS, at 2153 Bristol Road. For more information, go to johnsbayschools.org or call 886-8358.