Lind-Ritzville Schools complete lead testing

The Lind-Ritzville Cooperative School Districts elected to have lead water testing completed in all of the school buildings. All of the tests came back with positive results for the school districts.

Former Superintendent Rob Roettger made the decision to have the tests done with other school districts throughout the country have dealt with high lead levels.

The testing of the water levels was completed through Educational Service District (ESD) 101, who contracted with TestAmerica in Spokane.

The elective testing yielded positive results for the districts and allows the cooperative to move forward with the upcoming school year with confidence.

During the last school year, Roettger said the districts fielded multiple questions and public records requests regarding lead water testing.

Now with official documentation of the tests, the districts can ensure the health and safety of students and staff consuming water.

The testing consisted of a sample being taken from each type of drinking fountain or fixture in each individual building. The tests included the sinks in the kitchens used for food preparation.

All samples must test below 20 parts per billion (ppb) in order to be considered safe. Every water sample registered well below the maximum limit.

The majority of the tests resulted as not detected (ND) at the reporting limit. ESD 101 stated all the levels are well below the limits so there are no concerns about the drinking water.

The highest result in the districts registered at 2.6 ppb from the Home Economics room sink in Lind-Ritzville High School. The highest result in Ritzville Grade School registered in Room 12 at 1.2 ppb.

The next highest amount to record was in the Ag Building, which measured at .70 ppb.

In the Lind School District, the kitchen recorded the highest in the Lind Elementary School at .67 ppb. The kitchen in the Lind-Ritzville Middle School also recorded the highest reading in the building with 1 ppb.

In the Ag Shop in Lind, the highest recording was .46 ppb.

To collect the samples, the system at each building was flushed out the night prior. The samples were gathered at 6 a.m. the following day to ensure the samples were the first draw of the water for the day.