Galesburg’s two colleges are doing their due diligence to ensure drinking water is not contaminated with lead.
Knox College began testing a small part of campus for contaminated water after an Associated Press investigation this month attempted to connect lead pipes in Galesburg homes to high levels of lead in county children.
“When the news came out, we identified 11 properties on our campus that have older service lines,” says Knox’s Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services Keith Archer. “We undertook testing for those water sources as well as all the sources on campus. So we are awaiting the results for quite a few water tests for campus.”
Archer says he expects the results to come back “any day.”
He says the 11 properties — including older buildings used for student housing — account for about five percent of campus; the other 95 percent of the school is known “with certainty” to not have lead service lines.
Should the test results require action, Archer says Knox is prepared for that.
“On a temporary basis, that action is probably providing bottled water if necessary and changing out service lines,” he says.
Carl Sandburg College says blueprints show no lead service lines are used at the campus.
