July 1, 2019, was the deadline for schools to test their drinking water for lead under a 2017 law passed by the California Legislature. The California Safe Drinking Water Act "requires the State Water Resources Control Board to administer provisions relating to the regulation of drinking water to protect public health." A minimum of five drinking fountains are required to be tested per school.
Lead is a neurotoxin which can adversely affect the brain and nervous system in child, though adults can also be affected to a lesser extent.
The CALPIRG Education Fund says more than 1,600 school drinking water fountains tested positive for lead. They also say that the most recent data shows some schools likely missed the deadline for getting their water tested.
"We cannot accept exposing kids to lead in their drinking water," said executive director Emily Rusch. "Drinking water is one of the most basic, essential needs that schools must provide for their students."
The group has published an interactive map showing which schools have conducted testing and which have not.
Locally, San Juan Unified School District has nearly 30 untested sites, according to the data. Those schools include Arcade Fundamental Middle, Aspire Alexander Twilight College Preparatory Academy, Aspire Alexander Twilight Secondary Academy, Cameron Ranch Elementary, Charles Peck Elementary, Cottage Elementary, Coyle Avenue Elementary, Del Dayo Elementary, Dyer-Kelly Elementary, Howe Avenue Elementary, James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary, La Entrada Continuation High, Laurel Ruff Transition, Mira Loma High, Mission Avenue Open Elementary, Options for Youth-San Juan, Pasadena Avenue Elementary, Ralph Richardson Center, Rio Americano High, San Juan Choices Charter, Starr King K-8, Thomas Edison Language Institute K-8, Thomas Kelly Elementary, Valley Oaks, Visions In Education, Whitney Avenue Elementary, Winston Churchill Middle.
Also on the list of districts CALPIRG says have untested schools are Twin Rivers Unified, Galt Unified, Folsom/Cordova Unified, Sacramento City Unified, Elk Grove Unified, and the Natomas Unified School District. However, Deidra Powell, Director of Communications for Natomas Unified School District, disputes the CALPIRG data. She insists that the district completed collection of samples in December of last year and has been told the district is in compliance with the 2017 state law. She also noted that two schools in question have been closed and are not in use. Powell did not comment on the findings of the testing for the Natomas schools, which CALPIRG says hovered between five and six parts per billion, though those findings are similar to most other schools on the list. The EPA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) agree that there is no known safe level of lead in a child's blood.
"We urge every school to not only comply with the law, but also go above and beyond what the law requires to truly protect kids from lead in their drinking water," said Rusch.