AMHERST — Water taps at Wildwood School and Fort River School were shut down this week after test results revealed samples taken from nearly four dozen faucets and bubblers contained elevated levels of lead.
The results at the two elementary schools come after elevated lead levels were discovered last month in water samples taken from Crocker Farm School.
The school district is participating in a voluntary state program consisting of increased water testing that aims to allow officials to identify and remove plumbing fixtures that may be leaching lead or copper into drinking water.
On Sept. 2, 78 fixtures at Fort River were tested for lead and copper levels. Of those “first draw” water samples, 13 bubblers and 11 faucets tested at lead levels above the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. None contained excessive levels of copper, acting Superintendent Michael Morris wrote Thursday in a letter to the school community.
On Sept. 1, 76 taps were tested at Wildwood. The district received results from 22 of those first-draw samples, which showed that 11 of them tested for lead above the action level, Morris Wednesday wrote in a letter to the school community.
First draw means the taps had not been flushed prior to testing, and water had been sitting in pipes overnight for six to 12 hours.
At both schools, all of the samples in which water was flushed through pipes for 30 seconds were negative for lead and copper at levels above the federal limits.
Officials believe that the water itself is not the source of the lead contamination at Wildwood, Fort River or Crocker Farm — the three elementary schools in town. Rather, lead often enters the water supply through old water mains, pipes, fixtures or soldering manufactured prior to the mid-1980s, according to water quality experts.
Town and school officials are currently investigating the source of the lead, Morris wrote in the letters.
The problem samples from Wildwood were taken from taps located in the H quad, art room, music room, main office and teachers’ lounge and have been taken out of service.
At Fort River, the samples came from the C, D, and E quads and the kindergarten and first-grade quad and have been taken out of service.
At Wildwood, the 22 outlets for which test results have not been received are being flushed by school staff for 30 seconds at the start of each day.
At Fort River, the 54 taps from which samples did not test high for lead are no longer being flushed. School staff had been flushing all taps in the school since the start of the school year prior to test results being received.
Officials have developed plans for students who have lost access to their sinks. Details about that plan were not immediately available Thursday.
Amherst was one of 179 communities, with 900 schools, that volunteered for the initial round of voluntary testing.
Amherst Regional Middle School, Amherst Regional High School, South East Campus and Pelham Elementary were also tested. Those results are expected in the near future.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.