Grafton Street – 2023 Water Improvement Grant Testing Results
January 2024
To the Students, Families, and Staff of Grafton Street School,
Drinking water fixtures (water bottle filling station with attached water cooler/drinking fountain) were recently installed in several schools in the district as part of a grant received from the School Water Improvement Grants (SWIG) program. Your school received one or more of these fixtures.
Prior to making the fixtures available for use, samples were collected to test for the presence of lead and copper. Samples were taken at each fixture for both a first draw sample with the water standing in the tap overnight, as well as a flushed sample after the unit was run for 30 seconds. See information on sample collection procedures for school samples.
We are pleased to report that the samples taken from the newly installed fixture(s) in your building contain no measurable lead concentrations and are below the Massachusetts Action Levels for copper in drinking water.
In accordance with the USEPA’s Revised 3Ts Manual, MassDEP’s Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA) program recommends that schools and early education and care programs evaluate and remediate all taps/fixtures used for drinking, food preparation or medical uses with lead results above the Massachusetts certified laboratory detection limit of 1ppb (0.001 milligrams per liter (mg/L)) until the lowest possible concentration of lead is achieved. The Massachusetts Action Level for copper in drinking water is 1.3 mg/L (also known as parts per million).
For Mass. D.E.P. information on lead and copper in drinking water see:
In accordance with the L.C.C.A. program, routine sampling of drinking water will be conducted in each school at least every three years.
Sources and Sampling of Lead and Copper in Drinking Water
In Massachusetts, most drinking water sources from reservoirs and groundwater do not contain elevated levels of lead or copper. Lead enters drinking water primarily by leaching from plumbing that contains lead, such as a lead service line (all known lines containing lead have been removed) that connects a building to the water main in the street, or from plumbing and fixtures inside a building. Copper enters drinking water primarily by leaching from plumbing that contains copper.
Lead and copper leaching is most likely to occur when the water is heated or is not moving, generally overnight or at other times when the water is not used for several hours. Therefore, MassDEP requires the fixtures to be sampled first thing in the morning after the water in the building has not been used overnight.
A Reminder from Mass D.E.P.
The water system at the school is not unlike water systems found in other buildings. Older plumbing systems and fixtures, especially, can contain lead pipes or solder that can allow lead to enter tap water.
If you have any questions on this information, please contact the WPS Facilities Department at (508) 799-3151.
Sincerely,
Rachel H. Monárrez, PhD
Superintendent of Schools