(Reuters) – Detroit authorities on Wednesday ordered drinking water shut off at all city public schools after elevated levels of lead and copper were found in water at more than a dozen buildings with antiquated plumbing systems.
FILE PHOTO: Running tap water is seen in Michigan, U.S., May 4, 2016.
REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo Over the weekend, supplies were cut at 16 schools and bottled water was provided until water coolers arrive, Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said.
“We have no reason to believe that any children have been harmed,” said Chrystal Wilson, a spokeswoman for the district.
Detroit public schools students are due to start classes on Tuesday, although teachers are already working.
Detroit’s drinking water comes from the Detroit River.
Water safety is a sensitive issue in Michigan, where lead contamination in the water supply of Flint prompted dozens of lawsuits and criminal charges against former government officials.
Medical research has linked lead to a stunting of children’s neural development.
Exposure to copper can cause gastrointestinal distress and liver or kidney damage, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Flint switched its water supply to the Flint River from Lake Huron in April 2014 to cut costs.