Elevated Lead Levels Found In Drinking Water Of 9 Central Bucks County Schools As New School Year Nears
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- Lead has been discovered in the drinking water at some central Bucks County schools just weeks out from the start of the new school year. Central West High School is one of nine schools where elevated levels of lead were found.
The Central Bucks School District says the drinking water will be safe before school reopens next month.
"I would say to parents, I assure you that when your children walk into the building in the Central Bucks School District they are safe, that the water is safe and we're compliant with guidelines," Superintendent Dr. John Kopicki said.
Kopicki gave parents some piece of mind after lead was found in some of the district's schools. Testing done in June found nine schools had elevated levels of lead in its drinking water.
"We have tested over 1,000 sites in our school district, which is basically where children can consume water. Ninety-nine-point-eight-five percent of the sites came back within EPA guidelines that they were fine," Kopicki said.
State law requires the district to test for lead prior to the school year.
"You don't want the kids ingesting lead. That just has to be something that has to be taken care of," parent Lisa Tuerk said.
The superintendent says the last time lead was found in one of the schools was three years ago. He says that problem was fixed, and work began immediately to fix the current problem.
Kopicki says they will be expediting the remediation and retesting process and results should be back within seven to 10 days. Check out a full list of impacted schools here.
CBS3's Howard Monroe reports.
