Oakland Unified tests water at all schools after lead detected in drinking fountains

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — The Oakland Unified School District sent a letter families telling them the district is testing drinking water at all schools for lead contamination. This comes after they notified teachers and families some faucets and fountains showed high levels of lead.

“I first heard about it through a text message,” said Ashley Long, a parent of a child at Hillcrest Elementary. “It said bring extra water for your child the first day of school. I was like, okay this is interesting.”

OUSD says they found lead levels higher than their safety threshold of five parts per billion on 22 of their campuses. Over 6% of fountainheads and faucets were over the federal limit of 15 ppm. OUSD says they installed FloWater or similar water machines to provide filtered clean water. However, parents are not happy to just now be hearing about this.

“How did this happen over such a short period of time or were we just not aware?” Long wondered.

RELATED: Unsafe lead levels found in drinking water at multiple Oakland public schools

Environmental experts say lead is a dangerous metal that can cause significant neurological damage, especially for children.

“Tiny, tiny amounts can still effect the way our blood is circulating, the way oxygen is carried to the brain,” said Dr. Elena Givental, a professor of environmental studies at CSU East Bay. “I can slow early childhood development.”

Givental says most of the time, lead in the water is caused by old pipes or old pipe connectors.

“Eventually when the pipes are old, when they are aging, corrosion happens and it starts leaking into the water,” Givental said.

MORE: San Mateo County schools’ drinking water contaminated with nitrate

Water activists are calling on the state and federal government to step in, especially since school districts like OUSD have massive budget deficits.

“Children need to stay hydrated throughout the day,” said Andria Ventura with Clean Water Action. “They are studying, they are active, they are concentrating.”

There is a state bill, AB 1851, that would help schools test for lead in drinking water. That bill is currently going through committee hearings. Ventura hopes that bill will one day pass.

“We totally understand the economic burden this puts on the schools,” she said. “We have called on the state board to take the lead issues more seriously.”