Annysa Johnson and Mary Spicuzza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Public charter schools approved by the City of Milwaukee would be required to test all of their drinking fountains and faucets annually, and show that they meet federal standards for lead and copper levels in water, under a resolution to be taken up Friday by the Common Council's Steering and Rules Committee.

The proposal comes as cities across the country, including Milwaukee, are scrutinizing their water sources in the fallout from the Flint, Mich., water crisis, and just weeks after Milwaukee Public Schools posted the results of tests on fountains and faucets at its schools late last year.

Ald. Jim Bohl, chairman of the city's Water Quality Task Force, said the proposal was part of a broader effort to prevent lead exposure, especially when it comes to children at day care centers and schools.

"We want to ensure that every school — because children are a more vulnerable population — every school is sufficiently tested," Bohl said.

The resolution is sponsored by Bohl as well as aldermen Cavalier Johnson, José Pérez, Russell Stamper II and Council President Ashanti Hamilton.

Sean Roberts, executive director of Milwaukee Charter School Advocates, said he endorsed the idea but that he would want to see what specifically the ordinance would require. He said some schools already have begun to test their water sources and have not found problems.

"Obviously, I think making sure school environments are safe and healthy for children is good practice no matter what kind of schools kids are in," he said.

"I just hope, before the Common Council goes forward, that it gets input from school leaders on how to go about reporting it, and doing it in a way that makes sense for families to get good information and for the city to replace pipes."

The City of Milwaukee is among a handful of entities authorized to charter public schools in southeastern Wisconsin, including Milwaukee Public Schools and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. It currently has eight schools under its jurisdiction, all of which serve primarily low-income children of color — those most susceptible to lead poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Exposure to lead increases a child's risk for brain and nervous system damage, slowed growth and development, learning behaviors and other health problems, according to the CDC. And high levels of copper can cause adverse health effects, it said, including stomach problems, liver damage and kidney disease.

MPS test results

MPS posted results of tests on thousands of water samples in December. It found high levels of lead in water in 183 of its more than 3,000 drinking fountains, faucets and other water sources, the district said.

The city resolution, if approved, would require all city-chartered schools to annually test all drinking fountains and faucets through the Milwaukee Water Works. If a school uses an outside vendor for food preparation, its faucets also would have to be tested. And testing would be required of all new charter applicants.

Results would need to meet the standards set forth in the Environmental Protection Agency's so-called Lead and Copper Rule, which requires state and public water systems to monitor customers' taps and take action if lead levels exceed 15 parts per billion and copper exceeds 1.3 parts per million in 10% of taps sampled.

The MPS posting said any fixture where the level exceeded the 15 parts per billion level deemed acceptable by the EPA was turned off and would be replaced and retested. It also said no MPS building had lead pipe laterals, meaning the problems were isolated to suspect fixtures.

"I would hope that every entity that serves children would do this at least annually," Bohl said. "My hope is that the state would make a requirement mandatory for all charter schools. My hope is that they would use that to address the voucher program schools. ... It would be beneficial to do this with every school."

He added that he would like to see the State of Wisconsin link lead testing to its licensing and regulation of child care centers.

The City of Milwaukee has embarked on an aggressive effort to address lead exposure among residents. Last fall, Mayor Tom Barrett urged owners and residents of Milwaukee homes built before 1951 to use filters capable of removing lead from drinking water. And it began distributing water filters to low-income families, financed with the help of a $75,000 donation from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County and a coalition of local health care providers.

It's now grappling with how to go about replacing lead laterals — the pipes that move water between the street and a home — that are in place at nearly 70,000 residences across the city.

Barrett's proposed 2017 city budget includes nearly $11 million in spending on lead abatement efforts. Of that, $4.3 million comes from the federal government to address lead paint issues. Another $5.2 million would be spent in 2016 and 2017 to replace lead pipes at some 385 licensed day care centers. Barrett's budget also would provide funding to replace about 300 residential lines when they leak or fail, and it includes a cost-sharing plan for lead pipe replacements on private properties.