Lake Oswego Lead Testing Results Encouraging

Lake Oswego announced Tuesday that it had spent much of the summer testing all city-owned buildings for the presence of lead in the tap water and the results were very promising.

The city was just one of many across the state that instituted testing in the wake of a lead in the water scandal in the Portland Public Schools that helped lead to the sudden departure of the district's superintendent,

The news in Lake Oswego was much more positive.

Of the 20 samples collected, 18 revealed no detectable lead and 19 of the 20 were below the United States Environmental Protection Agency action level of 15 parts per billion.

The one sample that exceeded the action level was the laundry room faucet at the Main Fire Station, at 41.1 ppb. An investigation regarding the source of the lead in the Main Fire Station is being completed and the faucet, which is the most likely source, has been replaced. The other sample with a trace of detectable lead was the Adult Community Center drinking fountain, at 5.1 ppb. Although this result is well below the action level of 15 ppb, the fountain will be replaced.

"While there is no requirement to test for the presence of lead in the water in City-owned buildings, we wanted to be proactive, to reduce any potential exposure," said Kari Duncan, Water Treatment Plant Manager for the City of Lake Oswego.

"These are pleasing results which indicate the treatment process and corrosion control system is working effectively and the plumbing in the city's buildings contains no or little lead."

Samples were collected at the Main Fire Station, South Shore Fire Station, Westlake Fire Station, Jean Road Fire Station, Palisades School (Parks and Recreation), Adult Community Center, City Hall, Golf Course, Tennis Center and the Library. The results of City facility lead testing can be found at www.lakeoswego.city/city-building-lead-results.

Water Treatment Plant staff have also responded to many water customer requests for lead samples this year. Of the 25 homes, churches and day care facilities tested in Lake Oswego in 2016 at the owners request, all samples have been below the action level of 15 ppb and the majority have had no detectable lead in the water.

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