Water Testing

As you may know, a new state law was passed that requires all elementary schools and daycare centers to have all water sources used for drinking and cooking be tested for lead. The new law requires school districts to notify parents of any water source that tests at 5 parts per billion (ppb) or above.

The new law stipulates that water testing must be completed by the end of 2017 for all facilities built on or before January 1, 1987, and that may be occupied by more than 10 children or students, pre-kindergarten through grade 5. For facilities built after January 1, 1987, testing must be completed by the end of 2018.

District 131 hired Weaver Consultants Group to conduct water testing. While the law applies to schools with students up to fifth grade and facilities built before 1987, our Board of Education elected to have testing done at all of our buildings, including schools, pre-kindergarten through high school.

Testing was completed in November of 2017. Links to the summary results and consultant report of water samples taken from our buildings are listed on this page.   

While the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) sets what’s called an “action level” for lead in water at 15 parts per billion (or ppb), the new Illinois law stipulates that if any sample has a concentration of lead greater than 5 ppb, individual communication must be sent to all parents and legal guardians. If samples are less than 5ppb, notification is done through the school website.

Read more about lead in drinking water from the EPA.

Communication:

• Parent/Guardian informational letter, November 6, 2017
• Parent/Guardian test results letter, December 19, 2017