Editor's note: A prior version of this article listed Whittier Elementary as a school with faucets and fixtures that still need replacing. Our correction now reads Whittier Community Center. Whittier Elementary does not show detection of elevated levels of lead.
School starts Monday for Boise School District-- the same district where, just last fall, 23 schools tested positive for elevated levels of lead in the water. This, as we learned, was a result of old fixtures and faucets, rather than the water source.
Boise School District facility staff have spent months working to replace faucets fixtures. And as it stands now, 13 out of the 23 schools that tested positive for elevated levels of lead are either completely in the clear, or close to completion.
This is a list of the Boise School District schools with faucets and fixtures that have not yet been replaced, as of August 16:
- WHITTIER COMMUNITY CENTER
- HILLCREST ELEMENTARY
- FORT BOISE SCHOOL
- BOISE HIGH SCHOOL
- WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY
- WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT ELEMENTARY
- HILLSIDE JUNIOR HIGH (HALFWAY COMPLETED)
- MONROE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (HALFWAY COMPLETED)
"It's safe to say we're in the final stages right now of replacing faucets and fixtures, and it's been a lot of work!" said Dan Hollar, Public Affairs, Boise School District. "The Idaho Division of Environmental Quality, they helped support a grant that we received through the federal government-- about $500,000 to address this issue. So if people are wondering if we're using district funds for this, [we are using] primarily federal grant dollars to help address this issue."
As of June 30 of 2019, Hollar reports $9,772 of district funds have been spent on the alternate water dispensers.
Fairmont, Capital, Borah, Garfield, Jefferson, Maple Grove, North, Adams, Liberty, Owyhee, Hawthorne, Koelsch, and Madison are the schools listed as having a 90% or higher completion status as of Friday.
To learn more on Boise School District's progress, visit this link. The district will continue to provide water service to the schools where drinking fountains and faucets are currently being replaced.
