MPS finds high lead in 183 water sources

94% of fixtures deemed safe, Driver says

Milwaukee Public Schools has announced that months of testing has revealed high lead levels in water from 183 of its more than 3,000 drinking fountains, faucets and other water sources.

That means 94% of the district’s water fixtures deliver water deemed safe by EPA standards, superintendent Darienne Driver said in a statement posted on the MPS website Friday.

“The safety of our students, staff and visitors are a top priority,” Driver said in the statement. “Nearly 12,000 samples were taken from 191 buildings. This measure helps to assure families, staff and the community of the safety of drinking water in our buildings.”

The website said any fixture where the level exceeded the 15 parts per billion level deemed acceptable by the EPA was turned off and will be replaced and retested. It also said no MPS building had lead pipe laterals, meaning the problems were isolated to suspect fixtures.

The district statement noted that it acted proactively to test the fountains and that federal and state regulations do not require schools to test drinking water. The testing was done by a pair of state-certified firms, according to the statement.

The statement refers to drinking fountains only, but the district included a link to the full results of the testing. Those detailed findings designate sources including faucets, sprayers, aerated faucets and hose bibs as well as drinking fountains.

The database is searchable by school and even by room.