CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Thirteen water fountains at school buildings in a Champaign school district are being replaced or turned off after tests revealed they contained elevated levels of lead.
There was so much lead in six of those fountains that the Champaign Unit 4 School District is required by the state to notify students’ parents and guardians.
School district spokeswoman Emily Schmit says the tests on sinks and drinking fountains located in early-childhood and elementary schools took place over the summer. The tests revealed that 303 of the 352 samples indicated lead levels at less than 5 parts per billion. But 43 samples from sinks and six from drinking fountains showed lead levels higher than 5 parts per billion.
Unit 4 has schools in Champaign, Savoy and Bondville.
