High levels of lead found in school drinking water in Wicomico County.
According to the EPA: "The treatment technique regulation for lead (referred to as the Lead and Copper Rule) requires water systems to control the corrosivity of the water. The regulation also requires systems to collect tap samples from sites served by the system that are more likely to have plumbing materials containing lead. If more than 10 percent of tap water samples exceed the lead action level of 15 parts per billion, then water systems are required to take additional actions." https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/basic-information-about-lead-drinking-water
The water testing results for Wicomico County Public Schools have exceeded this limit throughout several of its schools. Although they are testing for lead, one thing they are not testing for is copper and other metals that are harmful to ingest. The Lead and Copper Rule does a good job to explain this. The school system does not test for copper or other harmful metals, because it costs more for testing, and testing requirements are not enforced by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) despite Maryland COMAR 26.04.01.06 regulations on Lead and Copper. We also don't see any testing results from WCPS for other contaminants such as nitrates, arsenic, pH, turbidity, etc. according to COMAR 26.04.01.07.
WCPS (WCBOE) lead water testing results and remediation: https://www.wcboe.org/Page/471.
DPTC encourages parents to have their children tested for lead.
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