The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is in the middle of a first-of-its-kind drive to test for lead in the drinking water systems in more than 7,000 school buildings statewide.
They’ve already tested more than 1,100 buildings at 133 schools since January and have found that nearly 98 percent of them do not have a lead issue.
But for those that do, schools are taking action, turning off certain fountains and flushing systems.
A $600 million infrastructure proposal that Gov. Doug Ducey recently submitted to the federal government includes more than $38 million to make anticipated repairs to Arizona schools that have elevated traces of lead in drinking water.
I spoke with Miseal Cabrera, director of ADEQ, and asked him about that plan from the governor.
And as far as long-term solutions for those water sources where they found higher lead levels, he said those will be determined after they collect and analyze all of the data that they are gathering now.
