Every San Antonio ISD school tested positive for lead in drinking water

An Environment Texas review of drinking water testing data finds that 100% of San Antonio ISD schools which have undergone testing for lead in their drinking water have found the heavy metal in at least one water fountain or faucet in the school. Highland Park Elementary had the highest levels detected in the county, with a drinking water fountain finding lead levels of 685 parts per billion (ppb). 

Lead damages our kids’ health – affecting the way they learn, grow and behave. It has no place in the water that San Antonio children drink every day at school.

To stop this contamination, San Antonio ISD should install new water fountains with filters certified to remove lead. This single step not only eliminates a key source of lead (fountains) but also captures lead coming from plumbing or pipes within school buildings. Filters should also be installed and maintained on all other taps used for cooking or drinking. As explained in our “get the lead out” toolkit, these measures are the most effective steps to keep our kids’ water safe. With overwhelming bipartisan support, Michigan is now requiring these steps for all schools.

Unfortunately, it appears that San Antonio ISD is (so far) is only committing to take action at the roughly 4 percent of outlets where testing showed lead concentrations at or above 15 parts per billion.  This approach is severely flawed. Because lead testing is highly variable, the water from a fountain or faucet can be “highly hazardous” even if several samples fail to detect lead. As long as there is lead in the plumbing or pipes, any tap without a filter can serve lead-laced water to our kids. Moreover, this SAISD response allows lead in kids’ water at levels 15 times as high as the limit recommended for schools by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The data used in Environment Texas’ analysis was collected through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program. 

We have long known that exposure to lead impairs development, learning and behavior in children. Yet we somehow allowed this toxic metal to be used in the pipes and plumbing that deliver our drinking water.

Our kids deserve safe drinking water wherever they go to learn and play each day. We need to act immediately to replace lead-bearing fountains with new water stations and filters on all drinking water taps.