FARMINGTON – The new numbers are in regarding lead levels in the drinking water at the W.G. Mallett School.

In April, water samples taken from the school, which serves around 380 students in grades K-3, showed elevated lead levels in four of the six samples. Those numbers, though, were thought to be skewed because hydrant flushing had occurred on the same day water for the samples was drawn. The pipes had also been idle for several days previous to the testing, since it was conducted over April vacation.

The school gets its water from Farmington’s water supply; however, the lead problem was isolated to school grounds.

District officials ordered all drinking water to be shut off, and new tests to be conducted.

Six of those eight new samples show lead levels significantly lower than the government standard level of .020 parts per million for schools.

However, two of the results were much higher, including a reading of .049 ppm in an upstairs drinking fountain. That’s more than twice the standard level. The other high lead count of .028 ppm, just .008 ppm higher than the standard, was found in the sink in the teachers’ room.

The pipes for the fountain with the high count and three others have been replaced with plastic pipes as has the piping for the teachers’ room sink.

Just to be safe though, said school Principal Melvin Burnham, fountains are still off at the school, and students are drinking bottled water.

“We plan to phase out the bottled water next week,” he said. “The problem had a simple fix and it all seems to be safe at this time.”

Regular exposure to lead can cause developmental problems, both physically and mentally, in children under 2, and in pregnant mothers. As Burnham pointed out though, Mallett students most likely only consume a few sips of water a day.

He urged parents to learn from the situation at school and get their home water tested for lead.

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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