Whether your kids are drinking water at home or in school, you never want red flags raised when it comes to the levels of arsenic in the water they are drinking. But in Sutter County, new state standards are causing some problems for the schools, who are looking at a means of permanent solutions to provide students with safe drinking water, even with levels which are flagged, but do not exceed the state requirements for arsenic in drinking water.
The topic is discussed in a recent online article from appeal-democrat.com, which explains that “for those who live in areas just outside city limits or in rural areas, some pursue annexation into incorporated areas for access to contaminant-free municipal water supplies, others opt for bottled water or home filtration systems. Schools are faced with their own challenges.” These challenges are serious, especially because it deals with providing safe drinking water to students.
California changed its arsenic standard in 2008 from 50 ppb to 10 ppb, and after that, many schools were not in compliance with the new requirements. Ever since then, schools have been working to find permanent solutions for their water supply. According to the article, “Those not connected to a community public water source, such as Yuba City, are considered their own public water source and legally required to fall below California’s maximum contaminant level of 10 parts per billion, at whatever cost, though students may be allowed to drink the same water at home across the street.”
While no schools in Yuba County have this issue, there are several schools in Sutter County working to find a solution. Long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking water has been linked to several cancers and cardiovascular, immune system, neurological and endocrine problems. Many school officials stressed that though the arsenic levels are elevated, exposure has been eliminated and any risk from arsenic that had been in the water would be minimal. One administrator admits that this does bring about red flags, even if the levels are right under the requirements. As a parent or a concerned citizen, you want children to have safe drinking water wherever they are – in the home or in the school.
After its first elevated arsenic level was reported, board members approved an $11,000 project to install more than 30 point-of-use filters on every drinking fountain and below every school sink. But this is not the permanent solution they have been looking for. Although home filtration systems may work in many households in the area and are the perfect solution for removing the arsenic from the water, the schools need a bigger fix. They have considered everything from providing bottled water to using grant money to fund a pipeline which will bring in water from Yuba County.
“Parts of Sutter County have long had the reputation of having elevated levels of minerals, salts, and other materials.” While schools work to solve their issue, what can residents do to solve the problem within their household? As previously mentioned, drinking water systems can be an efficient and affordable way to provide your family with safe drinking water. Finding a system which wastes up to 90% less water than traditional reverse osmosis systems is also an eco-friendly solution. While the schools work to take down the red flags, make your solution an easy and affordable one – a home drinking water system. To read more on the problems faced by these schools, click here.
