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Water Quality

Water Quality in the Watertown Public Schools

In November 2016, nearly 300 samples from sinks and fountains throughout the district were submitted for testing to the Mass Water Resources Authority. These were ‘1st draw’ samples, meaning they were taken without letting the water run for a period of time, providing a worse-case scenario. The results were as follows:

293 samples submitted
287 (98%) samples tested below the Action Level of 15 ug/L (parts per billion)
6 samples were found to be above the Action Level. The 6 samples were acceptable.
3 at Hosmer - one in back kitchen sink, 2 in classroom sinks with bubblers
1 at the High School - sink in nurse's office restroom.
1 at the Middle School – sink in kitchen
1 at Phillips—sink in room 30 in preschool area.

What steps were taken:

We replaced all six of the affected fixtures and bubblers
Working with the DPW, samples are taken annually from a sampling of public buildings including one school.

  Copper in Drinking Water FAQ for School and Childcare Facilities

 

  Lead in School Drinking Water FAQ for School and Childcare Facilities   

 

Copper and Lead results for the schools are listed below.

Random Water Sampling

As a proactive measure, the Department of Public Buildings, through a qualified contractor, will be taking samples of approximately 10% of the sink/fountains randomly at a different school every other month.  The results will be located in this section:

Watertown High School - September 2020
Lowell School - September 2020
St Jude School Building (Cunniff West) - July/August 2020
Cunniff School - March 2019
Lowell School - May 2019
Middle School - July 2019
Hosmer School - September 2019
Watertown High School - September 2019
Phillips Building - November 2019
Hosmer School - February 2020
Phillips Building - December 2020