Some fountains still can't pass school lead test

A new report shows that one-quarter of the drinking fountains installed at dozens of Seattle schools over the summer are still failing lead tests.

The company testing water quality in the schools thinks the problem is caused by small amounts of lead found in the new fountains and in piping "elbows" that connect the fountains to the water supply. But the company is not recommending Seattle Public Schools rush out to replace its replacement fountains — not yet, anyway.

Instead, the company, HDR/EES, says the school district should try replacing some of the brass elbows with stainless steel or plastic parts and also run water through the new fountains to encourage the formation of compounds that act as a barrier to lead leaching. If that fails, the district could consider installing stainless-steel fountains, said Gregg Kirmeyer, project manager for HDR/EES.

"As we have eliminated some of the old bubbler heads and old piping, we are getting down to these fine levels where some of these small components are what we are after," Kirmeyer said. "We still have a long ways to go, absolutely ... it's been more challenging than we might have thought in the beginning."

The district has been replacing fountains after parental concerns about water quality persuaded the School Board more than a year ago to shut off fountains at most of its 100 schools and switch students to bottled water. The School Board imposed a lead limit of 10 parts per billion, more stringent than the recommended federal limit of 20 parts per billion. The replacement fountains conform to federal health standards and contain only trace amounts of lead — about 0.2 percent, according to Kirmeyer.

In a report presented to an ad hoc oversight committee last night, HDR/EES said it had replaced 387 fountains or other fixtures recently. Of 328 tested so far, about 46 percent failed initial lead tests. The district then installed filters at failing fountains, which fixed about half of them. District officials have estimated that fixing water problems will cost $13 million.

Initial results from the second round of testing show problems vary from school to school. For instance, all seven fountains tested at Roxhill Elementary were still failing, as were all five tested at Van Asselt Elementary. But at High Point Elementary, six failing fountains all passed tests after filters were installed. At Northgate Elementary, 10 of 11 fountains passed with filters.

So far, 39 schools have been switched back to piped water. Ron English, the district's water-quality manager, said he expects another 10 to 15 schools will be switched back to piped water by the time school starts early next month and another 15 to 20 by the end of September. He said that may mean temporarily shutting down individual fountains in some of those schools.

The district also has been investigating mold over the summer, finding problems at more than half a dozen schools. Most have now been fixed, English said. At Nathan Hale High School, 1,600 ceiling tiles were replaced after a leaky roof led to mold growth.

One school with a stubborn mold problem is Arbor Heights Elementary, where water has been pooling under some classrooms. English said leaky pipes or fixtures are causing the problem. The district plans to open the school in September, he said, even if it means installing machinery to suck air out from under the classrooms to ensure students don't breathe in mold spores.

Nick Perry: 206-515-5639 or nperry@seattletimes.com