Lead in Brookline School Water? It's Taken Care of: District

BROOKLINE, MA- Last year a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority report indicated two schools had water sources testing higher than standard for lead levels but then, whoops, that was false alarm and very quickly after that an MWRA spokesperson cited human error and gave the all-clear at the schools.

Now Brookline School District Administration is sending out notes to families at the Driscoll School and Pierce to reassure them once again that the water's fine.

"The water sources in the Pierce School are safe and conform with EPA requirements for safe drinking water," said Superintendent Andrew Bott in a letter dated May 2, addressing the community's concern after they said a Boston Globe Article reported higher lead levels at two other schools.

Bott told Patch that the report was out dated and the town addressed the issue last summer before school started.

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The MWRA notified Brookline's School Department last July that one single-unit hallway sink/water fountain in the Pierce Primary building testing at a lead level of 20.7 parts per billion in its first draw. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) deems 15 parts per billion to be the safety threshold. The same single-unit sink/fountain tested below the EPA threshold in the second draw, called a “flush sample,” at less than 1.0 parts per billion that same day. At that time, the sinks and water fountains were turned off in the Pierce Primary building.

That month the Building Department replaced the plumbing, piping, and fixtures at this sink/water fountain, according to the School Department.

"As an added precaution, the Building Department also replaced the plumbing, piping, and fixtures at three other similar sinks/water fountains in the building," said Bott in the letter home.

Then the Building Department had independent testing done by Yee Consulting Group a month later - the MWRA was unavailable, they said. Yee Consulting Group took 12 samples from six different sinks/water fountains in the Pierce building and all of the samples passed.

The full letter home to parents:

May 2, 2017

Dear Pierce Families,

In response to this morning’s article in the Boston Globe about water testing in schools, we want to reassure you that the water sources in the Pierce School are safe and conform with EPA requirements for safe drinking water. The Boston Globe was reporting on tests done by the Massachusetts Water Resource Authority (MWRA) on June 29, 2016 that were immediately addressed last summer by a joint effort of the town’s School Department, Health Department, Water Department, and Building Department. While the issues raised in the MWRA test were resolved before school opened in September, I want to take this opportunity to let all families know what the town did once we were informed of one failed test at Pierce.

On July 8, 2016 the School Department was notified by the MWRA that one single-unit hallway sink/water fountain in the Pierce Primary building testing at a lead level of 20.7 parts per billion in its first draw, which is slightly above the 15 parts per billion threshold deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The same single-unit sink/fountain tested below the EPA threshold in the second draw, called a “flush sample”, at less than 1.0 parts per billion that same day. At that time, the sinks and water fountains were turned off in the Pierce Primary building. In July 2016, the Building Department replaced the plumbing, piping, and fixtures at this sink/water fountain. As an added precaution, the Building Department also replaced the plumbing, piping, and fixtures at three other similar sinks/water fountains in the building. After this work was completed, the Building Department had independent testing done by Yee Consulting Group on August 2, 2016. Their report on testing results is attached with this letter. Yee Consulting Group took a total of 12 samples from six different sinks/water fountains in the Pierce Primary building and all of the samples passed. The Building Department hired Yee Consulting Group because MWRA was not available for additional testing due to the department’s resource constraints.

Prior to the opening of school, the issue was resolved and the School Department was assured that all tested water sources at the Pierce School are safe. The spreadsheet included in the Boston Globe article did not reflect the test results from Yee Consulting Group. Today, the School Department has updated the MWRA with accurate test results.

If you have any further questions, please contact Dan Bennett, Building Commissioner: dbennett@brooklinema.gov , or Mary Ellen Dunn, Deputy Superintendent for Administration and Finance: maryellen_dunn@psbma.org.

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Bott
Superintendent of Schools

Brookline's water comes from the Quabbin Reservoir, about 65 miles west of Boston, and the Wachusett Reservoir, about 35 miles west of Boston. These reservoirs supply wholesale water to local water departments in 51 communities. The two reservoirs combined supply about 200 million gallons a day of water.