Test results back for contaminated water at Summit Elementary

A new round of testing released Thursday by the Butler Area School District found high levels of copper and lead in nearly every water sample from inside the Summit Township Elementary School building. However, the well was not contaminated.

by Katelyn Sykes, Jackie Cain and Bob Hazen, originally posted on February 3, 2017

SUMMIT TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A new round of testing released Thursday by the Butler Area School District found high levels of copper and lead in nearly every water sample from inside the Summit Township Elementary School building. However, the well was not contaminated.

The news of those results comes after learning Summit Township students will soon be moved to the currently closed Broad Street Elementary building while the district tries to deal with growing concerns over contaminated water.

“In my own opinion, they’ve been trying to cover things up,” parent Stephanie Scott said.

The results announced Thursday were exactly what Scott expected, she said. It strengthens her calls for Superintendent Dr. Dale Lumley to be held accountable.

“I think more people will begin to realize what he may have hidden besides this, so yes, he needs to go,” Scott said. “There are members of the board that are good, who are working for the parents and for the kids, and the kids are their number one priority.”

“While the results of the new tests are disheartening, at the same time, they give us a blue print for fixing the problem,” school board member Leland Clark said.

Janitors were working hard Thursday night at Broad Street Elementary, getting it ready to open to students who will be moving from Summit until the problems are fixed. Parents and students will meet there Friday night for an open house.

Classes at Summit had earlier been canceled for the rest of this week after a new round of tests indicated the presence of E. coli bacteria in well water.

Dr. William Pettigrew, a former Mars Area School District superintendent, was hired to lead the Summit Elementary Water Project, which is working to correct the problems. He says the testing showed treatment systems in the school kept the bacteria from reaching water fountains in the building.

“(The system) kills the bacteria called E. coli. That water, in other places throughout the building when they took samples, it didn’t show any throughout any sample that was taken,” Pettigrew said.

Last week, the school was closed for two days because water samples indicated high levels of lead.

A sample of raw well water that was collected Friday indicated that the untreated water had E. coli in it, according to the school district.

“It really makes you wonder what else is going to come up, because every day it’s something new,” Scott said.

Scott told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that she got a robocall from the school Monday night, regarding a “water emergency.”

“They need to go to school,” she said. “They need to get an education. But they need to go where it’s safe and they need to figure out what’s going on before they continue to move forward.”

Late Tuesday, the district said the state had approved a plan to send Summit students to Broad Street Elementary, which was closed in 2015 during a round of consolidation in the system. The school is about seven miles from Summit.

“When I spoke at the board meeting last week I specifically asked them to put the kids first,” said Scott. “So I think that’s what they’re doing by closing the school. Is it ideal? No. But that’s what needs to be done in order to fix it.”

Authorities are also investigating what has caused the water issues. Some parents have questioned whether a gas drilling pad built just a few hundred feet behind Summit could be to blame.

Pettigrew told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 he had no information about the gas installation, which is operated by XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil.

In a statement, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said “there does not appear to be a link between recent sample results from the school’s water system, and petroleum or natural gas activity.”

Full statement:

Due to the lead and copper contamination of the water at the Summit Elementary School, the Butler Area School District undertook comprehensive sampling of the well and treated water at the school.

This sampling was done to provide the students, parents, school employees and administrators with a clear picture of the water quality at the school for all regulated pollutant groups and to identify present and potential contamination the water.

This testing was not required at this time by the PA DEP but was undertaken to identify all potential contaminants in the water. This information will also allow the school district to specify, purchase and install the treatment system(s)needed to assure that the water served to the students and employees is safe to drink.

On Friday January 27, 2017, sampling was conducted at the school for all of the contaminant groups required by the PA DEP. Most of those sampling results are still undergoing laboratory analysis and are not yet available. However, a sample collected from the raw (untreated well water) indicated that the well water contains E. Coli. bacteria. The well water undergoes disinfection treatment at the school and sampling of the water in the school building conducted on January 27, 2017, showed that the water in the school was free of E. coli. However, due to the presence of E. coli in the untreated water, the PA DEP requires that the consumers of the treated water be notified. This notification is being distributed to all of the employees and parents of the students at Summit Elementary.

In order to correct this, the school district will conduct a Sanitary Survey of its well and delivery system in order to identify the defects which have caused the E. coli presence in the raw water. Testing of the well and treated water will continue to be conducted until a clear and full understanding of the extent of the water quality issues has been obtained. At that point, after consultation and approval by the PA DEP, the school will procure and install the treatment system(s) needed to provide safe drinking water to the students and employees at Summit Elementary.

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