News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam County schools are testing for lead levels in the water.
Assistant Director of Schools Corby King said this is part of former Governor Bill Haslam’s Tennessee Water Bill.
“This is in response to a new law that was passed by the general assembly last year that requires all schools to test the water supply for lead that were constructed prior to January 1998,” King said. “So for us in Putnam County that’s all of our schools except for Monterey, Upperman Middle, and Prescott campuses.”
Fifteen schools are testing for possible lead contamination. Putnam County Schools has 9 schools that fall into the required testing criteria.
King said results won’t be in for a few weeks but is confident in the board’s protocol.
“The lead testing is taking place this week, they started today. They will conclude the testing by this Friday and it has to be sent off to the labs, it’ll be a few weeks before we get the results back,” King said. “But once we do get the results back, if there are certain levels of lead in the water supply then we will be required to continue testing.”
The process tests the first 250 milliliters of water drawn. King said they will communicate with the city water supply and take immediate precautions if lead levels exceed the norm.
The approximate cost for the school system testing is $9,000.
