Lead testing underway at St. Charles schools

St. Charles schools will start the new school year with the assurance students will not be exposed to unhealthy levels of lead in drinking water.

Lead testing is underway at all 19 school buildings in St. Charles. High leads levels discovered in nearly 100 Chicago schools this summer inspired district staff to examine any problematic infrastructure it may also have.

"We're testing all places where potable water is available in a building where kids could drink it," Superintendent Don Schlomann said. "We've decided to go ahead and test everything. That will make it easier and simpler for people to understand what's going on. It is an issue that's in the news, and we're watching what's going on with (Chicago Public Schools). We figured parents are going to start asking us about our situation. We might as well be ahead of it."

CPS began lead testing in the spring following the lead crisis in Flint, Michigan. Lead is toxic if ingested in high amounts. Prolonged exposure and high levels of lead in a child's blood have been linked to attention deficit disorder, hearing loss, high blood pressure, aggressive behavior and potential long-term impact on IQ.

Illinois has one of the highest rates of lead poisoning in the country, according to the state's public health department. Kane County developed a program to remediate lead in the community after consistently ranking as one of the worst areas in the state for lead poisoning. Most of that is related to the age of local housing.

The school district's buildings are of various ages. Schlomann said he wouldn't be surprised to find lead issues in spot locations.

"These are typically issues involving water coolers," Schlomann said. "Usually it involves an older pipe connected to a drinking fountain. We could run into something like that."

Chicago-based Weaver Consultants Group North Central, LLC will collect about 800 water samples from the buildings during the testing. Most of the building are dormant during the summer so the company is simulating normal water usage during a school day by having water flow the evening before the testing.

The work will cost about $33,000 and results will be available within the next two weeks. The staff will immediately address any problematic infrastructure should lead be found. That should allow all buildings to open on time and free of any lead hazards.