Drinking Water Safety

State law now requires that drinking water outlets in school buildings built, or with all plumbing replaced, before 2016 be tested for the presence and level of lead contamination by June 30, 2026, and every five years thereafter. "Drinking water outlets" include drinking fountains, classroom "bubblers", sinks and other water sources. 

School districts are required to notify the community of lead test results and develop action plans if test results exceed the action level of five parts per billion.  Before finalizing an action plan, public input is needed.

The district partnered with the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to conduct testing during the 2024-25 school year at all eight(8) schools in the district. By law, additional testing will be completed in the 2029/30 school year. The most recent results for each school are available below by clicking on the testing date.

Initial DOH Lead Testing in UPSD 2024/25 School Year

2025 Remediation and Follow Up Testing

2025 testing results show that the majority of fixtures in the district have lead levels in the safe range (below 5ppb). Details are provided for each school in the links above.

Twenty-two(22) fixtures in the district had lead levels above 15ppb in initial testing. Five(5) of these fixtures were permanently shut off and/or removed because they were unnecessary and/or rarely used.  The remaining seventeen(17) fixtures with lead levels above 15 ppb in the first round of testing were either replaced or repaired and then retested.  The results of this retesting are available here.

After remediation, three(3) fixtures still produced lead levels above 15ppb. These fixtures will be kept out of use until additional repairs can be made to lower the lead levels. Eight(8) fixtures had lead levels under 15ppb but over 5ppb after retesting. These fixtures were put back into use as handwashing stations only.  Six(6) fixtures retested with less than 5ppb and were returned to normal use. 

While some fixtures have been taken off line and others have been converted to handwashing only stations based on 2025 testing, there are multiple sources of safe drinking water in use at all UPSD schools.

As time and resources allow, we will continue to remediate fixtures with lead levels above 5ppb. Some of these fixtures will be replaced in school renovation and replacement work funded by the 2026 Construction Bond. 

Water testing is required every five years. The district will test again in 2030.

State law requires each school district to have an action plan to address lead levels greater than 5ppb in any fixture.  The district's action plan has been developed in alignment with the technical guidance provided by the State Department of Health.  

Tested fixtures with lead levels greater than 15ppb (ppb is "parts per billion") are immediately disabled per state requirements.  The district will address issues at these locations on a case-by-case basis.  In some instances, when a fixture is rarely used and/or unnecessary, it will be permanently shut off.  In other cases, repairs will be made and the fixture will be tested again to ensure that the water is safe for use.

Tested fixtures with lead levels that are less than 15ppb but greater than 5ppb will undergo remediation per state law.  Remediation may involve fixture replacement, fixture modifications, filtration, plumbing replacement and/or designating some stations as "hand washing only".  After remediation, fixtures will be tested again to ensure that lead levels are below 5 ppb.

The legislature passed E2SHB 1139 in 2021 and this legislation can now be found in Chapters 43.70.830 (PDF), 43.70.835 (PDF), 43.70.840 (PDF), 43.70.845 (PDF), 28A.210.410 RCW (PDF).  More information on lead testing, mitigation and remediation is available from the Washington State Department of Health.