Water Testing
From November 13-17, 2023, we conducted lead testing on all drinking fountains and bottle filling stations districtwide. Of the 272 drinking fountains tested, 10 fountains were over the normal recommended range of 15 parts per billion (ppb). California’s lead testing law does not require extensive testing at schools. Schools are only required to test one to five water sources to comply with the new law, regardless of how many outlets they have.
After receiving the results, fountains that were above actionable levels were taken out of service immediately. This ensured that students and staff were not able to access the fountains until corrective action could be taken. Maintenance staff removed the fountains from service by turning off the water supply and communicated the status to the principals at the impacted sites. Similar to what we’ve done in the past, a plan for remediation to get those stations back in working order is underway by replacing fountains that have failed. Once this is completed, we will have them retested to ensure they are below actionable levels before putting them back into service.
Over the last several years, there has been an effort to add filtered bottle filling stations wherever possible. By installing several each year, to date, 45 bottle filling stations have been installed around the district.
Site Reports will be added as soon as available.
Questions and Answers on District Water Testing
- What is the timeline on replacement impacted faucets?
- Parts have been ordered and we expect to have them and to be able to replace them within the next few weeks. Until then we have bottled water available. In accordance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, it is a good practice to flush water faucets and fountains by running the water for thirty seconds before use. As an extra precaution, we are sharing this information with our staff and ask that they utilize this practice.
- What is the timeline for conducting a full assessment of the entire district?
- For the school sites identified in the draft report, we will complete a full water quality assessment as soon as possible. This process may take several months to complete.
- What is the normal recommended range?
- The normal range is less than fifteen (15) parts per billion (PPB).
- How is changing the fixtures going reduce the lead in the water?
- Although every attempt is made to reduce contaminants, replacing fixtures and faucets will not eliminate all lead in the water. By installing new faucets and fixtures we will be reducing lead to acceptable ranges.
- How do I learn about the East Bay’s water quality?
- Refer to East Bay Municipal Water District’s report at http://www.ebmud.com/customers/water-quality/.
December 13, 2023 Update
From November 13th to 17th 2023, CVUSD conducted lead testing on all drinking fountains and bottle filling stations districtwide. Of the 272 drinking fountains tested, 31 drinking fountains tested above actionable levels for lead. Maintenance staff have removed the fountains from service by turning off the water supply until corrective action can be taken. Once the fountains are replaced, and the system flushed, the 31 fountains will be retested to ensure they are safe for drinking prior to being turned back on for student and staff use.
Over the last several years, there has been a concerted effort to add filtered bottle filling stations wherever possible throughout the district. By installing several each year, to date, 45 bottle filling stations have been installed around the district. There are currently additional bottle filling stations already scheduled to be installed over the coming months. Moving forward, CVUSD remains committed to continuing to work towards expanding access to filtered bottle filling stations across the district.
January 17, 2020 Update
On January 21st CVUSD received the results of the remaining fixture (faucet) with actionable results. We are excited to report that the replacement of the faucet resulted in the water samples coming back below actionable levels.
All fixtures tested in our annual water sampling are either below actionable levels but in most cases below detectable levels.
December 29, 2018 Update
The Castro Valley Unified School District is happy to announce that we continue to meet or exceed the mandate by the California State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water that by July 1 of 2019 that requires school districts to test up to 5 samples per school. Castro Valley USD has tested 100% of our drinking fountains. The results from the November 13, 14 and December are available below. We conducted 140 tests and identified 2 locations, Independent Elementary room 19 drinking fountain and Redwood High School room 12 drinking fountain to be above the allowable threshold. These 2 fountains were immediately taken out of service until we replaced fountain bubblers, fittings and valves as needed prior to retesting. The results of the 2 fountains after replacement came back as well below the allowable threshold of 15ppm.
View the PDF with the most current test results here.
November 29, 2018 Update
The Castro Valley Unified School District is happy to announce that beginning in late 2017 and throughout the 2018 year, we have committed to completing water testing at every drinking fountain in the entire District. Identified fountains that were at or above the allowable threshold, we immediately took these fixtures out service until we replaced fountain bubblers, fittings and valves as needed prior to retesting. Additionally every CVUSD site is getting at least one filtered hydration station installed.
February 8, 2018 Update
The Maintenance and Operations staff have continued to work to address faucets, fixtures and fittings that require immediate replacement as indicated in the results of the water testing.
Replacements were completed and retesting occurred. A hydration station was installed at Palomares Elementary, new fittings, bubblers and faucets were installed at Jensen Ranch Elementary, fittings and one fountain each, were installed at Stanton, Vannoy and Creekside Elementary Schools in early January.
A full assessment of sites that had an identified water testing finding has now been completed. The following site has a pending item remaining that is now being addressed:
- Creekside Middle - 1 fixture
As of February 3rd all drinking fountains and most faucets at every elementary school have been tested. As the results come back, the Maintenance and Operations staff will continue working to address faucets, fixtures and fittings that require immediate replacement. On February 10th all remaining untested drinking fountains at Canyon Middle school and Castro Valley High School will be tested. For school sites with no identified findings in the first round of testing (August 2017), we will complete a full assessment after all issues are addressed at the other sites. Additionally, we are working to install hydration stations at all sites regardless of findings. Ongoing updates about projects funded by Measure G, which includes health and safety as a top priority, will be shared with the community on an ongoing basis.
The updated report is available here.
December 22, 2017 Update
The Maintenance and Operations staff have continued to work to address faucets and fixtures that require immediate replacement. A hydration station was installed at Creekside Middle School in early November. Additional infrastructure assessments at Castro Valley Elementary, Chabot Elementary and Castro Valley High School are needed prior to installing hydration stations. We expect to have this completed in early January 2018.
A full assessment of sites that had an identified water testing finding has now been completed. The following sites have pending items remaining that are now being addressed:
- Jensen Ranch Elementary- 3 fixtures
- Palomares Elementary- 1 fixture
- Stanton Elementary- 1 fixture
- Vannoy Elementary- 1 fixture
- Creekside Middle - 1 fixture
Again, for school sites with no identified findings in the first round of testing (August 2017), we will complete a full assessment after all issues are addressed at the other sites.
The updated report is available here.
October 19, 2017 Update
The Maintenance and Operations staff have been working to address faucets and fixtures that required immediate replacement. Replacements were complete and retesting has occurred.
After faucet/fixture replacements and retesting, the following sites have pending items remaining:
- Castro Valley Elementary- 1 fixture
- Castro Valley High School- 1 fixture
- Creekside Middle School- 3 fixtures
- Palomares Elementary- 1 fixture
- Stanton Elementary-1 fixture
These issues require additional infrastructure assessment which will occur in the coming weeks. We will continue to share updates once the corrections are complete and a 3rd round of testing has occurred.
Additionally, we plan to conduct a full assessment of any site that had an identified water testing finding. If there are any subsequent findings, we will work to resolve them next. For school sites with no identified findings in the first round of testing (August 2017), we will complete a full assessment after all issues are addressed at the other sites. Additionally, we are working to install hydration stations at all sites regardless of findings. Ongoing updates about projects funded by Measure G, which includes health and safety as a top priority, will be shared with the community on an ongoing basis.
The updated report is available here.
September 11, 2017 Update
As part of ongoing effort to improve and maintain healthy school environments, CVUSD voluntarily contracted with ACC Environmental Consultants, a Bay Area environmental company to conduct water quality tests at all school sites in August. ACC Environmental Consultants gathered random samples from hundreds of fixtures and faucets throughout the district and has presented us the preliminary results. At a few locations the preliminary results showed lead levels above the recommended range, and we have taken immediate action to turn off the water at that station (sink or faucet) until the fixtures can be replaced and the water re-tested. Bottled water is available for students and staff as we work to address the problem.
Maintenance and Operations staff are working to address faucets and fixtures that require immediate replacement. Once complete, we will conduct a full assessment of any site that had an identified water testing finding. If there are any subsequent findings, we will work to resolve them next. For school sites with no identified findings in the first round of testing (August 2017), we will complete a full assessment after all issues are addressed at the other sites. Additionally, we are working to install hydration stations at all sites regardless of findings. Ongoing updates about projects funded by Measure G, which includes health and safety as a top priority, will be shared with the community on an ongoing basis. The report is available here.
Questions and Answers on District Water Testing
- What is the timeline on replacement impacted faucets?
- Parts have been ordered and we expect to have them and to be able to replace them within the next few weeks. Until then we have bottled water available. In accordance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines, it is a good practice to flush water faucets and fountains by running the water for thirty seconds before use. As an extra precaution, we are sharing this information with our staff and ask that they utilize this practice.
- What is the timeline for conducting a full assessment of the entire district?
- For the school sites identified in the draft report, we will complete a full water quality assessment as soon as possible. This process may take several months to complete.
- What about classrooms that still have water access in the identified fixtures? Is that water okay for students to use?
- The full assessment will provide us the necessary information. Until then, we recommend everyone to follow the EPA guideline of running the water thirty seconds before use. Bottled water is available.
- What is the normal recommended range?
- The normal range is less than fifteen (15) parts per billion (PPB).
- How is changing the fixtures going reduce the lead in the water?
- Although every attempt is made to reduce contaminants, replacing fixtures and faucets will not eliminate all lead in the water. By installing new faucets and fixtures we will be reducing lead to acceptable ranges.
- How do I learn about the East Bay’s water quality?
- Refer to East Bay Municipal Water District’s report at http://www.ebmud.com/customers/water-quality/.
- Which sites were identified as having a few faucets and fixtures that need to be addressed?
- Random voluntary tests were conducted in August 2017. Fountains and faucets were not used all summer, which could have impacted the results, increasing the possibility of higher levels of lead showing up in random tests. All sites were randomly tested and after 300+ samples, the draft report indicated the following locations require corrective action:
- Canyon Middle School- none
- Castro Valley Adult School- none
- Castro Valley Maintenance Yard- none
- Castro Valley Preschool - none
- Castro Valley Elementary- 1 fixture
- Castro Valley High School- 1 fixture
- Chabot Elementary- 4 fixtures
- Creekside Middle School- 4 fixtures
- District Office- none
- Independent Elementary- none
- Jensen Ranch Elementary- 2 fixtures
- Marshall Elementary- none
- Palomares Elementary- 4 fixtures
- Proctor Elementary- none
- Stanton Elementary-4 fixtures
- Vannoy Elementary- 2 fixtures
- Redwood High School- 3 fixtures
- Random voluntary tests were conducted in August 2017. Fountains and faucets were not used all summer, which could have impacted the results, increasing the possibility of higher levels of lead showing up in random tests. All sites were randomly tested and after 300+ samples, the draft report indicated the following locations require corrective action: