Indiana to provide free water testing to school districts

EAST CHICAGO, Ind. (AP) - The Indiana Finance Authority is planning to offer free drinking water tests at all the state's public schools.

The (Northwest Indiana) Times (http://bit.ly/2mkWnVM ) reports that school districts interested in participating in the voluntary program will need to complete a questionnaire that the authority will use to prioritize the extent of sampling needed in each district.

Jim McGoff, the authority's director of environmental programs, said the program has been planned for several months.

"The launch of this program is separate from the East Chicago situation," he said.

East Chicago Mayor Anthony Copeland said in December that drinking water tests performed by the Environmental Protection Agency found elevated lead levels in 18 homes within an area of East Chicago considered a USS Lead Superfund site, where hundreds of families were displaced this summer.

EPA conducted the water study to determine if excavation activities might cause lead in pipes to become dislodged and enter the water supply. The high lead levels were discovered before excavation began.

Lead in drinking water comes from lead in plumbing materials or insufficient use of corrosion control chemicals, EPA officials said. It isn't related to the lead- and arsenic-contaminated soil at the Superfund site.

Officials have said the city began adjusting corrosion control chemical levels before the agency tested drinking water.

The study's results represent the entire water system and all customers should use a certified water filter, according to EPA officials.

McGoff said the city has applied for a $14 million loan from the authority's State Revolving Fund to address its aging water infrastructure.

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Information from: The Times, http://www.nwitimes.com