Oakland public schools: Unsafe drinking water sparks outrage
A Northern California school district is under fire after it disclosed Monday that nearly 200 drinking fountains and water faucets across multiple schools had elevated levels of lead that tested above the district’s standards. The Oakland Unified School District, California’s 11th-largest public school district, said in a letter to families that it had tested over 1,000 faucets and fountains at 40 TK-12 schools to assess lead levels in the water. While nearly 83% of the faucets and fountains tested were under the school district’s limit of 5 parts per billion, or ppb, about 17% were above the limit. The district’s standard of 5 ppb is more strict compared to the state and federal guidelines of 15 ppb, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set as the action level for lead in drinking water.