San Diego

Searchable Database of Water Testing in Schools

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD) has been in the spotlight for testing its school water for lead, but school districts and private schools across the county have also been participating in the state program.

The program, which went into effect in January, allows for public schools to request free testing to determine lead levels in school drinking water.

NBC 7 Investigates has been collecting the data gathered by the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) and putting it in a searchable format for parents.

Parents can click on this link to find the information.

Type your child's school into the search box with the magnifying glass icon, and if the school has been tested, results will be available here as they are reported to the State Water Resource Control Board and updated weekly. 

So far, lab results on school drinking water are available for about 400 schools in San Diego County. Because this data set is inclusive of all schools in the county, San Diego Unified is also included in here. But not all of the data the district has reported on its website has been sent to the state by the City of San Diego.

Of the results compiled by the SWRCB, and provided to NBC 7 Investigates, about 50 schools had water with lead above 5 parts per billion (ppb). That's the threshold used for bottled water and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration standard.

Across the county, about 10 schools have had levels of lead higher than 15 parts per billion (ppb). 

Here's a list of schools countywide with water samples greater than 15 ppb of lead:

  • Twin Oaks High in San Marcos, 31 ppb
  • Cesar Chavez Middle, Oceanside, 18 ppb
  • Ira Harbison, National City, 20 ppb
  • Grapevine Elementary, Vista, 49 ppb
  • Imperial Beach Charter School West Campus, 25 ppb
  • Emerson Elementary, San Diego, 29 ppb
  • San Diego Cooperative Charter 2, 38.6 ppb
  • Birney Elementary, San Diego, 19 ppb
  • English French Learning Academy, San Diego, 35.9 ppb
  • Reidy Creek Elementary, Escondido, 25 ppb

Schools are required by the state to fix problems if they discover lead in water at levels greater than 15 ppb.

Since February, NBC 7 Investigates has been collecting this same data from the state, approximately on a weekly basis and reporting on the individual schools when the results were high.

Lead poisoning in children can cause symptoms ranging from headaches and hearing or speech problems to learning and behavioral problems or damage to the brain and nervous system. 

NBC 7 is gathering our coverage of concerns regarding drinking water in our special section "Safe to Drink?' here.

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