FLINT, MI — More than 4 percent of water samples collected in the final round of testing at Flint Community Schools’ buildings had elevated levels of lead, according to reports published online by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
The third round of testing, carried out throughout last month, is expected to be the last state-sponsored testing in school buildings — at least before a decision is made by the state on whether to continue providing free bottled water for distribution throughout the city.
FCS has its own agreement with private companies, including Walmart, to supply bottled water to students until at least the end of the current school year.
But after that, students will be in the same position as residents throughout the city — waiting for the state to finish its review of the overall quality of Flint water before making a decision on future bottled water funding.
The review started after the third round of school testing was completed, and Tiffany Brown, a DEQ spokeswoman, said she had no additional information on the testing or the future of bottled water supplied by the state.
The final tests in the city’s public school buildings showed at least one instance of water with at least 15 parts per billion of lead in each of the 10 buildings.
Doyle Ryder Elementary School continued to register high lead at multiple test sites — six in the last round of testing — and also had three samples that registered more than 100 ppb of lead, more than six times the federal action limit.
Flint Mayor Karen Weaver has said bottled water should be supplied to residents until all lead and galvanized service lines are removed, a job that could take the next two construction seasons.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has warned of the potential for large-scale releases of lead in the city’s water system during such extensive underground excavating.
MLive-The Flint Journal could not immediately reach Kristin Moore, a spokeswoman for Weaver, for comment.