CMS: Water Testing Complete At Five More Schools

December 11, 2018

CMS,

The Latest:

Water testing has been finished at five more Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools sites. No problems were found at two schools. An additional three schools had lead levels that exceeded state standards in two fixtures at two of the schools and one fixture in a third.

The five sites are part of the second round of water testing, which is being done at 35 schools and administrative buildings in all. The testing is voluntary and proactive. CMS partnered with environmental consulting firm AECOM to have the water-consumption points tested. The testing is being done before and after the school or business day to avoid disruption.

No problems were found at Eastway and Albemarle middle schools.

At Providence High, two water fountains in second-floor workrooms were found to have lead levels that exceeded state standards. Both fountains have been taken out of service.

At Randolph Middle, two classroom sinks were found to have lead levels that exceeded state standards. One sink has been taken out of service. The other, which could not be disconnected, has been designated with prominent signage as a non-potable water source suitable for hand-washing only.

At Northwest School of the Arts, a water fountain in a workroom was found to have lead in the water that exceeded state standards.

All five schools were tested in November.

“Our voluntary, proactive testing will ensure all students and staff have safe, clean drinking water,” said Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent. “We will continue to share the results as they become available.”

School families and staff have been notified and the results are also posted on the district’s Water Quality Program page.

Update (Posted Nov. 30, 2018):

Results have been released for six more sites in the second round of proactive water testing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have results. All six sites had at least one water-consumption point that exceeded standards for lead and copper established by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and all fixtures with issues have been taken out of service.

The sites tested were Smith Family Center, Harding University High, South Meck, East Meck, J.T. Williams Montessori and Kennedy Middle School.

At Smith Family Center, 20 water-consumption points were tested Oct. 2 and one water fountain exceeded acceptable levels for copper. It has been taken out of service.

At Harding University High, 61 water-consumption points were tested Oct. 23. One sink in the visitors’ concession stand at the football field had lead levels that exceeded state standards. The sink has been taken out of service.

At South Meck, 80 water-consumption points were tested Oct. 20. One sink in the gym concession stand had lead levels above the state standard and one water cooler in a first-floor hallway had copper levels above state standards. Both were taken out of service.

At East Meck, 80 water-consumption points were tested Oct. 31. Lead levels above state standards were found in a sink in the baseball concession stand and in a sink in the teachers’ lounge. Both sinks were taken out of service.

At J.T. Williams Montessori, 28 water-consumption points were tested Oct. 24. One water fountain in the boys’ locker room had copper levels above state standards. It was taken out of service.

At Kennedy Middle, 38 water-consumption points were tested Nov. 3. One classroom sink in Room C7 had lead levels above the state standard. The sink was taken out of service.

CMS partnered with environmental consulting firm AECOM to have the water-consumption points tested. The testing is being done before and after the school or business day to avoid disruption. The five sites are part of the second round of water testing, which is being done at 35 schools and administrative buildings in all.

“Our voluntary proactive testing will ensure all students and staff have safe, clean drinking water,” said Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent. “We will continue to share the results as they become available.”

Update (Posted Nov. 29, 2018):

Four more schools in the second round of proactive water testing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have results. No water issues were found at Independence High or Carmel, Quail Hollow and Ranson middle schools.

CMS partnered with environmental consulting firm AECOM to have the water-consumption points tested. The testing is being done before and after the school or business day to avoid disruption. The four schools are part of the second round of water testing, which is being done at 35 sites in CMS.

School families and staff have been notified and the results are also posted on the district’s Water Quality Program page.

Update (Posted Nov. 27, 2018):

CMS partnered with environmental consulting firm AECOM to have the water-consumption points tested. The testing is being done before and after the school or business day to avoid disruption. The four schools are part of the second round of water testing, which is being done at 35 sites in CMS.

School families and staff have been notified and the results are also posted on the district’s Water Quality Program page.

Update (Posted Nov. 20, 2018):

Two more schools in the second round of proactive water testing in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools have results. Garinger High and Northeast Middle were tested in October. In all, 69 water-consumption points were tested at Garinger and 45 at Northeast.

One fixture at each school was found to have lead levels that exceed state standards for safe drinking water: a water cooler in the cafeteria at Garinger and a classroom sink in Room C7/C223 at Northeast. Both fixtures have been taken out of service.

CMS partnered with environmental consulting firm AECOM to have the water-consumption points tested. The testing is being done before and after the school or business day to avoid disruption. Garinger and Northeast are part of the second round of water testing, which is being done at 35 sites in CMS.

School families and staff have been notified and the results are also posted on the district’s Water Testing Program page.

Original Story (November 13, 2018):

CHARLOTTE, NC — Water-testing results are complete for 15 of 35 sites in the second round of the proactive program conducted by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

No water-quality issues were found at 11 of the 15 sites tested: Villa Heights Elementary, the Leadership Academy, Piedmont IB Middle, North Mecklenburg High, Hawthorne Academy of Health Sciences, West Mecklenburg High School, Cochrane Collegiate Academy, Coulwood STEM Academy, Sedgefield Middle, Wilson STEM Academy and Alexander Graham Middle.

Lead levels that exceed state standards for safe drinking water were found at four buildings. A sink in Room D-32 at Bishop Spaugh, a district administrative center, had lead levels above state standards and a sink in the teachers’ lounge of the Project L.I.F.T. Graham Center at West Charlotte High had levels of lead above state standards. The Performance Learning Center had two classroom sinks with levels of lead above state standards. West Charlotte High had one kitchen sink in the press box concession stand that had levels of lead above state standards. All five sinks have been taken out of service.

“We will continue our voluntary proactive testing so that we can ensure all students and staff have safe, clean drinking water,” said Dr. Clayton Wilcox, superintendent. “We will also share the results as they become available.”

CMS partnered with environmental consulting firm AECOM to have the water-consumption points tested. The testing is being done before and after the school or business day to avoid disruption.

School families and staff have been notified and the complete results are also posted on the district’s Water Quality Program page.