FRESNO (KMJ) — Classes within the Clovis Unified School District are on again for the new school year, but it comes as it’s revealed that seven of those sites are in the same water-area as the Northeast Fresno residents who have been complaining about discoloration.
Those living in that part of the city reported problems with their water, which led to the discovery of lead and other unwanted substances coming from some faucets. Officials are still trying to identify the exact cause of the discoloration with the most likely one being the type of pipes used during the construction of individual resident’s homes.
The water in a number of Clovis Unified schools comes from the same source, prompting tests there too. But that examination can’t be completed until August 29th as accurate tests can only be done when the pipes and faucets have been subjected to normal use.
“Get the water moving through the system”, says Director of Public Works Thomas Esqueda. “Once we’ve got that pattern established then we’ll go in and grab the samples”.
Six school sites within Clovis Unified School District have already been tested before the students left for the summer.
“Based on that data everything came back compliant with the lead and copper rule. There were four faucets that had shown the presence of lead…but Clovis went ahead and replaced those faucets”.
The sites to be looked at from August 29th include Clovis North High School, Clovis West High School, Granite Ridge Intermediate, Maple Creek Elementary, Kastner Intermediate, Mountain View Elementary, and Lincoln Elementary.
“What we’ll do is, working with the School District we’ll identify five water fountains in the school that are identified as having a high usage potential. We’ll go ahead and grab those samples. They’re first draw samples so the water will have probably sat overnight”.
Esqueda adds that if anything is found it will be sent to Clovis Unified School District first, and action from the City of Fresno will follow.
“We’ll be testing for lead and copper, that’s the standard test method that EPA uses to understand corrosion potential of a system”.
Hear the story from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
