The Safety of Tap Water in America, Part 5: School System Contamination

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One of the scariest things a parent can experience is the exposure of his or her child to danger.

We send our kids to school under the impression that they are safe there. With all of the safety protocols in place at schools, it’s easy to assume that being at school is one of the safest places a child can be.

In some schools though, there’s a silent potential killer lurking where no one can see: Inside the water pipes.

Two stories in the news recently have highlighted two school districts in separate cities serving 43,000 kids that have been found to have lead in the drinking water. 

A story at NJ.com said,

In 2006, 2008, and again in 2012, elevated levels of lead were found in drinking fountains in city schools, but officials did not “chart a a comprehensive attack on lead” until 2013, The New York Times reported yesterday. 

The report comes as lead contamination in urban areas has come under closer scrutiny.

But despite lead levels being elevated up to 60 times the federal threshold at eight schools in 2006, students were not switched to bottled water until two years later, The New York Times reported. 

By 2013, all but six Jersey City schools had lead contamination, with one fountain testing at 853 times the accepted maximum, the report states. 

Lead poisoning is exceptionally dangerous for children and can result in nervous system damage and even death. There is no safe minimum for lead exposure and the fact that it’s showing up in schools is reason to send children to school with bottles of clean water from home.

Lead is showing up in school drinking water all across the country, from Seattle to Ohio to Michigan to New Jersey, and will very likely appear in more cities. The biggest reason is because of lead pipes that are many decades old. Water absorbs chemicals from whatever it travels through, and old lead pipes are notorious for poisoning drinking water.

The best way to avoid lead is to drink bottled water that is regularly tested. Castle Rock Water is pure, fresh mountain spring water loaded with natural electrolytes and healthy minerals. People all across California are having it delivered right to their homes and offices so they can have drinking water that they can feel good about serving to their families.

If you’d like information on home delivery, just contact us and you’ll be on your way to a life without lead in your water. 

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