Water Quality in DJUSD


Overview

The California Division of Drinking Water (DDW), in collaboration with the California Department of Education, has taken the initiative to begin testing for lead in drinking water at all public K-12 schools. In early 2017, DDW and Local Primacy Agencies issued amendments to the domestic water supply permits of approximately 1,200 community water systems so that schools that are served by a public water system could request assistance from their public water system to conduct water sampling for lead and receive technical assistance if an elevated lead sample is found. To further safeguard water quality in California’s K-12 public schools, California Assembly Bill 746 published on October 12, 2017, effective January 1, 2018, requires community water system to test lead levels, by July 1, 2019, in drinking water at all California public, K-12 school sites that were constructed before January 1, 2010.


With the exception of Fairfield Elementary School, all DJUSD schools receive drinking water from the City of Davis. In the fall of 2017, the DJUSD, in conjunction with the City of Davis, tested drinking water at five different location at each school. With one exception, all tests reported lead levels below the EPA action limit of 15 parts per billion (ppb). The majority of the samples reported no detectable lead.

The one sample that exceeded 15ppb (drinking fountain at Emerson Junior High School) was immediately taken out of service. Supply plumbing to the drinking fountain was replaced and subsequent testing reported lead levels well below the 15ppb action level. The drinking fountain has been returned to service.
About Lead Levels
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets an action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb) for lead in drinking water.

According to State Water Resources Control Board recommendations, if the lead level in a first-draw drinking water sample collected on a drinking water outlet at the school campus after stagnations is:

Higher than 15 ppb: The corresponding drinking water outlet should be re-tested to confirm the initial result. Upon confirmation of the initial result, the drinking water outlet should be either addressed to mitigate the lead problem or permanently removed from service. Any corrective actions implemented by the school for that drinking water outlet should be re-tested to confirm the lead level in water is not higher than the action level.

Not higher than 15 ppb: There is a strong indication of insignificant exposure to lead at that particular sample location and the corresponding drinking water outlet can be returned to use with no further water testing.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, you may contact your school principal or the Capital Operations Department:

David Burke, AICP LEED-AP
Executive Director of Capital Operations
Davis Joint Unified School District
[email protected]