There were no schoolwide issues. The majority of the issues were found in fixtures like hand washing sinks or backflow prevention devices.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY – Hillsborough County Public Schools has completed the first year of districtwide water testing and found no schoolwide issues.

District officials said they decided to take the proactive step of testing to ensure the water students and staff drink is safe for consumption.

Fixtures at every school and district office, 251 facilities in all, were tested and any issues that were found have been corrected.

The district’s maintenance staff collected water samples from every drinking fountain, kitchen food prep sink, or other fixture used for drinking water, in addition to other samples throughout the district – a total of 11,595 fixtures.

Fewer than 2 percent those, a total of 207 fixtures, came back with lead levels above the district strict standard of 15 parts per billion. Officials said the district is using a stricter standard than what the Environmental Protection Agency recommends. Forty of the fixtures that showed elevated levels were drinking fountains. All of the fixtures that showed elevated levels were immediately taken out of operation and not used again until the problem was fixed and the water passed a new test.

There were no schoolwide issues. The majority of the issues were found in fixtures like hand washing sinks or backflow prevention devices. Parents have all been sent notification that includes the results of their child’s school testing. All detailed results can be seen at hillsboroughschools.org.

This testing is not required by any law. Officials said it is an additional step the district is taking to improve safety for students and staff. Charter and private schools are independently managed and therefore are not part of this testing program.

Photo of water being collected at Franklin Boys Preparatory Academy courtesy of Hillsborough County Public Schools.

Hillsborough Schools | Education | Water Testing | Environment | Tampabay News

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