Waterford School District’s Response to Lead Testing Inquiry
(Crystal A. Proxmire, April 27, 2016)
Waterford, MI – As they see the images of children in Flint lined up to get bottled water or crying over blood tests, people around the country have been wondering about the safety of the water they and their families use on a day to day basis to cook, clean, bathe and drink.  Parents, teachers and advocates have also been calling for testing of the water in schools.
When lead and copper are issues, it is often caused by old pipes or old fixtures.  Even when old fixtures are there, corrosion control in the water helps protect users.  But testing is the best way to know if the protections are working or not.
After learning that Oakland Schools had put out an RFP for water testing, the oc115 contacted school districts from throughout Oakland County to find out where they stand on testing.
Keith Wunderlich, Superintendent of Waterford Schools, responded with the following:
“We just received water testing guidance from the Oakland County Health Department about a week ago. They developed a protocol for all schools (and businesses, etc.) to follow. Prior to that guidance the inconsistencies of testing (companies just followed their own protocol, not a standard) led to false positives and false negatives.
“Oakland Schools has put out a request for proposals for water testing companies. We will begin testing as soon as the vendor is identified by the county intermediate school district (Oakland Schools).
“To my knowledge, there have been no concerns voiced about our water quality. We are just finishing a $100 million bond issue that replaced many drinking fountains and bathrooms throughout the school district over the last several years. Our facilities are in great shape, but we’ll be testing the water anyway so our community has peace of mind.
Keith Wunderlich, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Waterford School District”
To read what other school districts had to say, check out Local Schools Vary on Testing for Lead in Water.