Officials from the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District moved quickly to challenge and correct what they called an erroneous report in a local media outlet about lead levels in the water at Chadds Ford Elementary School.
Superintendent of Schools John Sanville reached out to the school community to make sure there was no confusion despite the media report and an apparent error in a report by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Due to an error in the EPA data, it was reported that the water had 120 parts per billion of lead — when it actually has 12, well below the upper limit of what is considered safe by the EPA. Sanville also included 2013 water test results from the school showing the 12 parts per billion result for lead.
His statement read:
“You may have seen a story stating that the water at Chadds Ford ES has unsafe levels of lead — this simply is not true – our water is safe. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires us to test our water every three months — the official results of this testing have given Chadds Ford ES water a clean bill of health. It appears that a typographical error got Chadds Ford ES mistakenly placed on an EPA violation list.
“The test results cited in recent media articles are from September of 2013 — I have included the analytical report from that testing. The report indicates a reading of .012 mg/L (12 parts per billion) — well within healthy guidelines as determined by the EPA. However, the EPA report incorrectly indicates a reading of .12 mg/L (120 parts per billion) — this is simply an error that became a story for some media outlets.
“Despite the misplaced decimal point and shoddy investigative reporting – Chadds Ford ES water is completely safe. We will continue to regularly test our water to ensure that it is clean and healthy for all.”
Sanville said he would welcome any additional questions or comments — and folks with either should contact him directly.
