Water tested for lead at 13 schools in Thurston County. Where do repairs stand?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Board got Feb. 24 update on testing, repairs and approved action plan.
- Impacted fixtures marked hand‑wash only; bottled water and info page provided.
North Thurston Public Schools is waiting on new lead-in-water test results from the state before it removes “hand wash only” signs from some water fixtures in its elementary schools, an assistant superintendent recently told the school board.
The lead-in-water testing and repairs have taken place at the district’s 13 elementary schools. A water fixture could be a water fountain or a sink in a classroom.
The board approved a plan tied to this work on Feb. 24, but before they voted, school board director Michelle Gipson called on Sean Dotson, assistant superintendent of operations, to provide an overview of the work to date and next steps.
Dotson explained that in 2018-19, the state provided an opportunity for schools to voluntarily participate in testing and then use those results to address any findings of lead in water.
“And so we volunteered as a school district, and went through that testing at our elementary schools, and when those results came back, we took advantage of some state grant funding to replace all of the fixtures in our elementary schools that were at or above 10 parts per billion,” he said.
Remediation was recommended at that 10 parts per billion level, according to district information. Parts per billion is a measurement of the trace amount of lead found in the water.
The district completed its work in February 2020, then the state Department of Health turned its attention to the COVID-19 pandemic. During it, the legislature approved, and the governor signed into law Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1139, which laid out some new requirements for lead-in-water testing, including a new threshold: 5 parts per billion.
“This fall it came to our attention that we had some water fixtures that were between the old standard and the new standard — six to nine parts per billion — that still needed to be remediated,” Dotson told the board.
The state Department of Health advised the district to go back and have the water fixtures that were replaced in February 2020 re-tested for lead, as well as re-test the new repairs to address lead that took place in the fall, he said.
While the district waits on test results — the district anticipates additional testing could happen over spring break — those affected water fixtures in schools have been marked “hand wash only,” Dotson said.
“In the meantime, in our most impacted schools, if we need to make sure that they have ready access to water, we’re providing bottled water to students in those places where a lot of taps are not usable for drinking,” he said.
How has this information been shared with families?
Over the fall, elementary schools reached out to families, including Woodland Elementary.
“While the likelihood of school drinking water alone causing an elevated blood lead level is very low, it is important to reduce exposure from every source as much as possible,” said Principal Amy Richardson in her early December message, which was shared with The Olympian.
She added that a drinking fountain would be taken offline and bottled water provided. Students were welcome to bring water from home, she said.
The district, too, produced its own announcement in November.
“The purpose of lead testing is to identify drinking water outlets that are potential sources of lead exposure,” the district announcement reads. “It is natural for lead to accumulate in older or infrequently used drinking water outlets.”
What about secondary schools?
The district’s middle schools and high schools have checked out as OK, said Dotson in an email to The Olympian.
“Our facilities department confirmed all secondary schools in NTPS have been tested for lead in water, and fixtures that tested above 5 parts per billion have been replaced,” he wrote.
If families have more questions, the district has created a water quality testing webpage.
