Students are back in the classrooms at Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, but the district is still contending with water quality issues that arose from last year’s extended closure.
In a message to staff and families on Monday, CHCCS Assistant Superintendent Patrick Abele said officials are still detecting copper and lead in some water samples taken from the schools.
For that reason, Abele said CHCCS schools will keep providing bottled water to staff and students for the rest of the school year, and using only bottled water for food preparation “until testing confirms the water is safe to drink.”
Officials with the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) first discovered the issue in February while testing water samples at Ephesus Elementary School, in preparation for reopening after an 11-month shutdown. At the time, OWASA executive director Todd Taylor said the detection likely resulted from stagnant water in pipes that hadn’t been used in nearly a year.
Since then, OWASA and CHCCS have worked to flush the water lines in every school and install water filters in many locations. However, Abele said copper and lead are still being detected, “including in a sample taken from a kitchen sink that was put in use following installation of filters.”
Abele said an investigation is ongoing in consultation with the state health department. In addition, the district has hired an independent consultant “to oversee our process and ensure the schools’ drinking water is safe to drink by the end of summer.”
In the meantime, Abele said the flushing process will continue and the district “will replace fixtures and piping as needed,” when flushing alone doesn’t resolve the issue.
Read Abele’s full message to the CHCCS community:
Dear CHCCS Staff and Families,
I am writing today to update you on our ongoing water testing.
With buildings sitting mostly empty and underused for a year, the likelihood of water quality issues in our school facilities increased significantly. Beginning in February, with the help of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA), we began testing water samples in the schools. At that time, we discovered a hand-washing sink at Ephesus Elementary with detectable levels of copper and lead. With the help of OWASA, we have since broadened our testing scope, and are currently working to test all kitchen sinks, ice machines, water fountains, bottle filling stations and refrigerators at all schools. We are discovering that even though we have increased flushing activities and installed water filters in many locations, copper and lead have been detected in some samples recently taken – including in a sample taken from a kitchen sink that was put in use following installation of filters.
OWASA is confident that the drinking water being delivered to your home remains safe to drink.
We are investigating the cause of these results. Here are a few things to know regarding our next steps:
- Only bottled water will be used for food preparation in our kitchens, until testing confirms the water is safe to drink.
- Bottled water will continue to be provided to all staff and students through the remainder of this school year.
- We are continuing to flush the water lines at every school. This has proven successful for reducing particle rates, and will be continued. This also increases the amount of disinfectant flowing through the system from the water source.
- In cases where the flushing of lines does not produce the desired results, we will replace fixtures and piping as needed. We will also continue to add filters where necessary.
- All coffee machines attached to water lines have been disabled.
- OWASA has agreed to expedite the testing process so we will get quicker results.
- We are hiring an independent consultant to oversee our process and ensure the schools’ drinking water is safe to drink by the end of summer.
- The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has reviewed our plan and is in agreement with our next steps.
- We will remain in close consultation with, and share test results with, the Orange County Health Department, ensuring they are included in the process.
- New durable signage is being installed this week to label all sinks/fountains as hand washing only (the water was confirmed safe for hand washing and dish washing).
Please know we are operating with extreme caution, and we will not risk the safety of any of our students or staff members. The work needing to be done is extensive, and will continue through the rest of this school year and into the summer. We expect to have all of our testing, and any needed repairs, completed in time for school to open in August. Until then, we appreciate your patience with the bottled water solution. If there are any changes to the plan, the district will remain in touch with families and staff.
Sincerely,
Patrick Abele
Assistant Superintendent – Support Services
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