Dear Tender Oaks Child Care Parents and Community,
Tender Oaks Child Care recently participated in a voluntary State program to test our schools’/child care facility’s drinking water for lead. This program was offered to all Virginia public schools and child care facilities and specifically tests water fixtures that provide drinking or cooking water to students.
In our childcare location, 3 fixtures were tested; the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, and outdoor spigot. The inside fixtures did not present lead levels that exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s action level of 15 parts per billion (ppb).
However, the outdoor spigot did present lead levels that exceed the EPA’s action level. The action level of 15 ppb is not a measure of health effects; it serves as a signal for the school/child care facility to take steps to reduce lead in the water. Lead found in tap water typically comes from the corrosion of interior plumbing fixtures and materials that contain lead, not usually from the municipal water supply. The issue is specific to the identified fixtures and will be addressed by the remediation plan.
The fixture of concern is located in the backyard, a fixture not used for drinking water, but rather for water play. As stated below, the outdoor spigot itself, along with the main water shut off valve have been replaced.
We have never used the outdoor spigot for drinking water, and that will remain so, even though the materials have been replaced.
- Shut off the water to these fixtures
- Replaced the fixtures
- Completed tests again to ensure the problem has been resolved
If you would like a copy of the complete testing results or more information about the findings, please contact me at gracefullives@gmail.com or (540) 422-5273.
Sincerely,
Lisa Cooper
Tender Oaks Child Care
