SEATTLE (AP) — About 60 percent of Washington school districts that responded to an Associated Press request for information test their school drinking water for lead. That includes 28 districts that just started testing since the Tacoma school district announced it had found lead in the drinking water in some its buildings.
The superintendent of the Asotin school district in the southeast corner of Washington state says testing for lead in school drinking water is one of his districts many financial challenges.
Dale Bonfield says there are a lot of things the state doesn't pay for, like lead testing, but that doesn't mean they aren't important to the health and welfare of his 650 students.
Bonfield says he's looking into getting the five water fountains most used by students tested in the near future. Since they're only doing limited testing in their three school buildings, it will cost just about $200.
Because the Legislature has not found money to pay for lead testing at every public school, Washington school districts get to decide for themselves whether to test drinking water for lead.
Here are the schools that started testing this spring, in the wake of the Tacoma water situation:
Among the school districts that test for lead, those that have found actionable levels of lead in school drinking water from at least one source, include the following: