Drinking water will be turned off in all schools at Detroit Public Schools Community District after initial results for 16 schools showed higher than acceptable levels for copper and/or lead at one or more water sources.
Water at the 16 affected schools was shut off Tuesday.
An additional 18 DPSCD schools already had water shut off due to water quality concerns, Vitti said, bringing the total shut off to 34 schools.
Mayor Mike Duggan’s Office and the Detroit Health Department issued a joint statement Wednesday, saying: "We are fully supportive of the approach Dr. Vitti has taken to test all water sources within DPS schools and to provide bottled water until the district can implement a plan to ensure that all water is safe for use."
We also will be reaching out to our charter operators in the coming days to work with them on a possible similar testing strategy to the voluntary one Dr. Vitti has implemented."
The testing evaluated all water sources from sinks to drinking fountains, he said.
"This past week initial results were returned for 24 schools and higher than acceptable levels were identified for copper and/or lead in 16 schools at one or more water sources," he said.
A total of 34 schools already are on a bottled water plan with others to follow, according to district officials.
The district collected its own samples, and the results were reviewed by the Detroit Health Department.
In July 2017, district officials said testing in March showed the water was safe to drink across the district.