Detroit schools are shutting off drinking water
DETROIT – Detroit’s city school district is shutting off drinking water to all of its schools after test results found elevated levels of lead or copper in 16 of 24 schools recently tested.
In a statement Wednesday, Superintendent Nikolai Vitti of the Detroit Public Schools Community District said he had initiated water testing in all 106 school buildings in the spring to ensure the safety of students and employees. Water at 18 schools previously had been shut off because of high levels of the heavy metals.
“Although we have no evidence that there are elevated levels of copper or lead in our other schools where we are awaiting test results, out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of our students and employees I am turning off all drinking water in our schools until a deeper and broader analysis can be conducted to determine the long-term solutions for all schools,” Vitti said.
The school district serves almost
50,000 students.
Both lead and copper leach into drinking water primarily through corroded pipes and other plumbing fixtures, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Health problems can range from stomachaches to brain damage.
The EPA ceiling for lead in drinking water is 15 parts per billion, and even 5 ppb can be a cause for concern. For copper, the limit is 1.3 parts per million.
The human body needs a trace amount of copper to function, but no amount of lead is safe, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That’s especially true for children because a smaller amount can be potent in a small body and because their bodies and brains are developing rapidly.
“This was not required by federal, state or city law or mandate,” Vitti said. “This testing, unlike previous testing, evaluated all water sources from sinks to drinking fountains.”
The Detroit Free Press was shadowing Vitti on a day in May when the issue of water quality in the schools came up during a Cabinet meeting. Earlier that day, Vitti had learned that test results at several schools had come back showing elevated lead levels.
“I’m not playing around with this . ... It’s a safety issue,” Vitti said during that meeting.
The district’s building problems have been a constant source of frustration for Vitti. Earlier this summer, Vitti released details from a facilities review that found the district would need to spend $500 million now to fix the poor conditions in its schools.
That price tag would rise to $1.4 billion in five years if the district did nothing.