EBMUD joins in new round of water testing for lead at Oakland schools

In an effort to protect students and allay rising concerns of parents over the discovery of alarming levels of lead contamination in plumbing fixtures at 10 Oakland public schools, district administrators launched a new round of water quality tests this week at all campuses.

The latest testing, which began Thursday, is being conducted by the East Bay Municipal Utility District as an added check on the process. Since August, the Oakland Unified School District has performed tests on about 70 of the 86 schools in its jurisdiction. Tests are set to be conducted at the remaining schools over the next few weeks, said John Sasaki, a district spokesman.

EBMUD, the East Bay’s main water provider, is starting from scratch at each school. As of Friday, it had taken water samples from Allendale, Bella Vista, Bridges and Chabot elementary schools, said Sasaki. It also took samples at McClymonds High School, where earlier tests detected lead in water fixtures.

Though the results of the tests will not come back for at least 10 days, Courtney Jones, president of the Chabot Elementary School Parent Teacher Association, said she was relieved that school district officials were taking the problem seriously.

A water fountain that was found to contain lead after being tested is covered at San Francisco International High School on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 in San Francisco, Calif. High lead levels at Oakland public schools led officials to announce a new round of testing on Thursday, less A water fountain that was found to contain lead after being tested is covered at San Francisco International High School on Wednesday, October 25, 2017 in San Francisco, Calif. High lead levels at Oakland ... more Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Lea Suzuki, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close EBMUD joins in new round of water testing for lead at Oakland schools 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

“Obviously, as a parent of two children at Chabot Elementary, just knowing there’s a potential of lead in water at any OUSD school is concerning,” Jones said Friday. “Just as a human being, that was the first thing that was alarming to me. I felt a lot better knowing that OUSD was doing the due diligence.”

The Oakland Unified School District and the EBMUD are evaluating the quality of “high-use water sources” such as faucets and fountainheads. Teams began taking water samples Thursday morning to check if lead was present in water sitting in pipes or fixtures overnight, district officials said.

The school district began testing water at schools in August, but now is partnering with EBMUD in hopes of providing “greater peace of mind” for those concerned by lead in the water, Sasaki said.

“We’re doing this as kind of a back stop, if you will,” he said. “They’re doing this in support of us to reassure the public our water is good.”

In October, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation requiring all schools to test faucets for lead by 2019. California’s municipal drinking water system permits required EBMUD as of December 2016 to provide its services to any public or private school in a district that asked for testing.

Several school districts in the state had signed up for testing with their local water utility in January, but the Oakland Unified School District opted to conduct tests independently back then.

Since testing began in August, Oakland school officials have found 10 schools had at least one source on campus with elevated levels of lead, Sasaki said. In those cases the fixture was either replaced immediately or taken out of service.

Those schools are Glenview Elementary, Burckhalter Elementary, Joaquin Miller Elementary, Brookfield Elementary, American Indian Charter High (Lakeview Elementary campus), Fruitvale Elementary, Thornhill Elementary, Encompass Academy, East Oakland Pride Elementary and McClymonds High.

The Chronicle reviewed the water tests, finding one of the poorest quality results was in a kitchen tap at the temporary Glenview school on 54th Street, where 430 children are attending classes while the Glenview campus in the Oakland hills is being renovated. The amount of lead in the tap totaled 60 parts per billion, four times the federally recommended maximum of 15 parts per billion, according to the tests done by the school district.

Sasaki said every case involved lead in a fixture, which meant that the high levels were present only the first few seconds after turning on a water source that had been dormant overnight. Had the lead infiltrated the piping system, Sasaki said, it would be a much more serious problem like what prompted a major crisis in Flint, Mich., that exposed tens of thousands of residents to lead contamination in the last three years.

Still, CalPIRG health advocate Jason Pfeifle said even minute exposure to lead could prove detrimental, causing permanent damage to a child’s cognitive development and intellectual and academic abilities. Overexposure has also been linked to higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he said.

The potential for serious side effects should prompt school officials to test every water source on every school campus instead of limiting sample sizes to “high-use” areas, he said.

“Testing is a start, but it isn’t enough. Oakland Unified currently doesn’t have a plan to test all water taps at all schools, which means there’s still risk of exposure for kids,” Pfeifle said Friday.

He recommended officials follow the example of the San Diego Unified School District, which is working to bring their levels to American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.

American Academy of Pediatrics announced in 2016 that lead in school water fountains should not exceed 1 part per billion, considerably lower than the federal maximum of 15 parts per billion.

“Pediatricians say that’s not safe,” Pfeifle said. “It’s just not a health-based standard. The 15 parts per billion standard was an administrative tool for water districts. It was never intended as a safety standard for kids.”

Pfeifle said he plans to someday enroll his now-2-year-old son in the Oakland Unified School District, so he’s pushing for safety “for my kid and for the kids who are currently going to school.”

In San Francisco, district officials announced in late October that some water samples from West Portal and Malcolm X elementary schools and San Francisco International High School exceeded federal lead limits. Officials provided bottled water for the campuses.

As widespread water testing continues, Pfeifle says proactive measures are preferable, such as installing filters certified to remove lead.

“Schools should be taking a preventative approach,” Pfeifle said. “The focus should really be on preventing lead exposures before they happen, rather than testing and waiting before they find a problem.”

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Jill Tucker contributed to this report.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno