High lead levels reported at two Howland elementary schools
Staff report
HOWLAND
Parents in the Howland school district received notification that bottled drinking water was being provided starting Thursday in all six of the district’s buildings as a result of tests that showed elevated lead levels in two of the buildings.
All the water fountains, kitchen sinks and any other water source students could use for drinking were turned off, said Kevin Spicher, the school district’s superintendent.
The high readings were found in results received so far in Howland Springs and North Road elementary schools, but results should be available by next week for the two other elementary schools, as well as the middle school and high school, Spicher said.
Testing was done two ways – a test of the “first flush” of water that came out of the fixture and a test of the same water after it ran for three minutes, Spicher said.
Because the numbers dropped significantly in the three-minute test, officials believe the lead is probably coming from the fixtures and drinking fountains.
But testing also is being done at the locations where the water enters the buildings and at the road to determine whether lead water pipes might also be contributing lead, Spicher said.
The North Road building receives water from Warren; the Howland Springs building gets its water from the Trumbull County Sanitary District. Results in both buildings were similar, Spicher said.
All of Howland’s buildings were built about the same time – in the late 1960s or early 1970s – except the high school, which was built in the 1940s, Spicher said.
The school district received the water results near lunch time Thursday and notified parents soon thereafter. Parents were advised they can send their child with their own water if they prefer, he said.