Water Quality in OUSD

Overview

OUSD has tested for lead in consumable water at all of our schools and has remediated the issues as they were identified.

While our facilities are generally well-maintained, the average age of our buildings is 57 years old.
The elevated lead readings found at some school sites were not school-wide, but found at one or two isolated faucets or fountains.
School leaders were notified of the issue by the Buildings and Grounds Department and/or Risk Management and the indicated water sources were immediately taken out of service and have been replaced or are in the process of being replaced.
We are committed to transparency about this testing.
It is our top priority to provide a safe, healthy environment for students and staff.

Timeline

May, 2019

EBMUD Testing has been completed.

View all results
Work order for repair and retesting (these fixtures were taken out of service and are awaiting repair).
Retest results
Complete EBMUD Testing Results (May 2019)

The items in yellow in the linked spreadsheet indicate elevated results per Board Policy 3511.3, the District Clean Drinking Water standards, and are in need of repair. OUSD Buildings and Grounds is in the process of repairing the elevated fixtures. When the fixtures are repaired and notification given to retest, results will be updated here.

April, 2018

February, 2018

On Feb 28, 2018 the Board of Education adopted Board Policy 3511.3 Clean Drinking Water. This policy requires the district to replace or remediate sources of consumable water that contain lead levels higher than 5 ppb. Previously, the district had been adhering to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended action level of 15 ppb.
EBMUD testing at all district-run K-12 school sites continues.

January, 2018

December, 2017

November, 2017

October, 2017

September, 2017

August, 2017

Our Most Recent Test Results

Resources

Throughout the process, we worked closely with the Alameda County Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Department. They told us that over the course of 20 years, they had encountered 6,000 cases of lead poisoning, and not a single case could be traced to water.

In Oakland, the cases most often result from lead-based paint and contaminated soil. For all faucets, in your homes and elsewhere, it is recommended that you run the water for a few seconds to flush/clear out the fixtures to reduce the risk of contaminants including lead. For more information, please visit the California Department of Public Health’s website where there are excellent resources and information about sources of lead exposure and how to get tested.

About Lead Levels

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead in drinking water.

According to State Water Resources Control Board recommendations, if the lead level in a first-draw drinking water sample collected on a drinking water outlet at the school campus after stagnations is:

Higher than 15 ppb
Not higher than 15 ppb

Higher than 15 ppb

The corresponding drinking water outlet should be re-tested to confirm the initial result. Upon confirmation of the initial result, the drinking water outlet should be either addressed to mitigate the lead problem or permanently removed from service. Any corrective actions implemented by the school for that drinking water outlet should be re-tested to confirm the lead level in water is not higher than the action level.

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