FLINT, MI — The number of water samples with elevated levels of lead in Flint elementary schools increased in February with more tests registering above the federal action limit than did one month earlier.
Although the second round of school tests showed a marked increase in lead hot spots, the testing conditions changed from January, and a DEQ official said those changes could account for 28 samples registering higher than 15 ppb compared to just 20 at the nine buildings in January.
Flint schools Superintent Bilal Tawwab issued a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal, saying the district "is eager to continue our work with the state, the mayor’s office, medical experts and Flint residents to analyze and continue water testing moving forward."
Even with the increase in samples with elevated lead, the February tests would meet federal guidelines for lead if treated the same as the samples collected by a municipal water system.
Testing that same year showed elevated lead in water at three Flint elementary schools.
After three rounds of testing, the DEQ has said it will consider those and other water testing results before making recommendations for the state’s role in Flint water going forward, including state-funded bottled water.
Collected in mid-February, the new results show: Only one school — Pierce Elementary — had every sample test below 15 ppb of lead.
Taken as a whole, the district’s 90th percentile for lead was 6 ppb, up from 4 ppb in January testing.
The sample with the highest level of lead — 279 ppb — was collected from Eisenhower Elementary.
Krisztian said testing that’s occurring in schools can’t be easily compared to testing that water systems perform every six months to comply with the Lead and Copper Rule, including the use of smaller sample bottles being used in school testing.