Safe Water Testing Program
Overview: Water Testing
To guarantee that students have access to safe drinking water at school, we conduct water testing at every school on a five year cycle. The most recent testing cycle started in 2018 and is ongoing. Results from the current testing cycle of schools are linked below.
What you should know about the District’s Water Testing program:
- Student safety is our first priority!
- The District has set a safety limit for lead in water at 10 parts per billion (ppb). That is STRICTER than the city’s limits.
- Families are notified before testing starts, after results come back, and once the entire building has passed inspection.
- If the result for a water outlet is above 10 ppb, the outlet is immediately shut down, while an action plan is developed.
- In the event we find higher than 10ppb in any water outlet, action plans are implemented within 30 days from the receipt of the result. Action plans could include:
- Removal of the outlet
- Repair to the outlet
- Application of a filter
- Replacement of the outlet with a state-of-the-art hydration station
- As we move from school to school, physical signs will be affixed to sinks and faucets that should not be used for drinking. Please pay attention to those signs.
- Bathroom sinks are not tested.
Blood lead testing for children is free at two Philadelphia Department of Public Health Centers.
- Health Center #3 located at 43rd Street, between Baltimore and Woodland Avenues
- Health Center #4 located at 44th Street and Haverford Avenue
Find more information at the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention website.
Test Results: Please search for the most recent testing results. Check back often as the results are continually being updated.
How to read the results:
- Click on a link below
- Read the letter to the school
- Scroll down to see the results page
- Use the information to the right (Definitions & Outlet Types) to interpret the information
- *Note: Only schools where testing has been completed have a link. If there is no link, the school has not yet been tested this cycle. Please check back often for updates.
Definitions
- ppb = Parts per billion. This is the unit of measurement that describes the number of units of a certain contaminate (in this case lead) per 1000 million units. In other words, 1 ppb is extremely, extremely small!
- AA = Above Action limit of 10 ppb. The outlet will be shut down and action plan implemented within 30 days.
- BA = Below Action limit of 10 ppb. No further action needed for this outlet
Outlet Types:
- WF = Water Fountain/Bubbler. Usually stainless steel, sometimes porcelain.
- HS = Hydration Station/Bottle Filling Station. These are state-of-the-art and have built-in filtration systems.
- FT = Sink Faucet/Tap
- FP = Food Prep Sink/Pot-filler/Kitchen Kettle
- IM = Ice Maker
Results from the previous testing cycle can be found here.
Last modified: May 13, 2020