Lead Testing: All Plainfield Schools Now In Compliance

PLAINFIELD, IL — Months after state-mandated water testing — and re-testing — Plainfield School District officials on Thursday said all water sources on campus now comply with state standards. "We are happy to announce that all 3,750 District 202 water sources now comply with the new State of Illinois standard for lead in water," the district said in an email sent to parents.

The new state law, passed last January, imposed a lower standard (5 parts per billion) than the federal law that preceded the state law (15 parts per billion), the district said. The law required all public school districts to test the lead content of the water in all schools serving preschool through fifth grade students built before Jan. 1, 1987 before Dec. 31, 2017. Schools built between Jan. 2, 1987 and Jan. 1, 2000, were required to be tested by Dec. 31, 2018. The law does not address schools built after 2000 or schools serving students in grades 6-12. The General Assembly can change the law until June 30, 2019.

Instead of waiting for action from the General Assembly, the district said it opted to simply test all of its facilities at once.

In August, after initial testing, the district said while 98 percent of the water sources at Plainfield school district's 33 schools and facilities meet state safety standards for lead content, 65 water sources at more than a dozen campuses failed compliance testing. Several rounds of re-testing were ordered.

On Thursday, the district said all water sources are now in compliance. Lead testing reports for all District 202 campuses are available online.

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