Callaway Hills Elementary to have water sources retested after lead found in five sinks

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Jefferson City School District is planning to retest sink fixtures at one of its elementary schools after recent water testing for lead.

Five sinks at Callaway Hills Elementary showed lead levels above the allowable limit. All of them were classroom sinks and cleaning stations, not drinking water.

Because of this, Jefferson City Schools Director of Facilities Frank Underwood says there is little to no risk to students. 

“I don’t have any fear that our kids are in danger or that they have been drinking lead water this whole time,” Underwood told ABC 17 News.  

Parents were notified via email before and after the test and the district says the issue at Callaway Hills will be corrected before the start of the school year. ​​​​​​​

Testing began at several buildings in May in order to comply with state regulations. Areas tested included water sources used for drinking or food preparation, including drinking fountains, bottle-filling stations, sinks and ice dispensers, according to the district website.

District officials are now preparing for a retest, according to district spokesman Ryan Burns.

Testing occurred at the Central Office, Dix Road Center, Jefferson City High School, South elementary, West Elementary and Callaway Hills Elementary. Levels were below the legal limit for lead at every other tested source.

The district plans on finishing testing for the rest of the buildings at the beginning of next summer. The state mandate only requires testing for schools but the district will be testing all their buildings to go above and beyond to keep their students and staff safe.

“It's a law. It’s required for us to do and that's what we are going to do," Underwood said. “And we are going to do everything that it takes to make it right and the federal mandate is 15 parts per billion state mandate is five parts per billion. That's where we need to be. 

ABC 17 News also spoke with Melissa May, of the Department of Health and Senior Services. She said the Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act allocated $27 million to schools to reimburse schools that have to take actions to reduce the concentration of lead in their facility. They hope to have applications open in August.