5 year Lead Testing Results at Madelia Public Schools
Madelia Public Schools, as part of the District’s Health and Safety Program, has a plan in place to collect water samples every 5 years from all fixtures used for drinking and/or cooking. Samples are taken and analyzed for lead content by a MDH certified laboratory. Samples were last collected by Tim Harbo of Harbo Consulting and analyzed by Minnesota Valley Testing Laboratories(MVTL) in 2023. The Minnesota Department of Health has set a threshold of 20 ug/L as a requirement to notify parents of levels from any particular water source. Madelia Public school has set the district’s allowable lead level at 5 ug/L for all drinkable and food preparation water sources.
First draw samples were taken throughout all drinking sources of water in the buildings. Levels above 5 ug/L were found in a total of 0 taps at the Elementary and 3
taps at the High School, and levels greater than 20 ug/L were found in 1 of those taps. The tap greater than 20 ug/L had been sitting unused in room 119, which accounted for its high levels during initial testing. Since it was located in a place where water wasn’t needed, it was decided to turn the water off and take it out of service.
All other faucets with levels greater than 5 ug/L intended to be put back into service were retested with first draw and flushing samples for 30 seconds. The kettle filler in the kitchen was retested as the initial sample came back at 5.01 ug/L. The follow up first draw sample and flush sample both came back below 5 ug/L and can continue to be used as normal. The outdoor tap at the ball field came back with a first draw sample of 12.1 ug/L and a flushed sample of less than .5 ug/L. If flushed, this tap would be with permissible levels to continue to use if flushed prior to use, but based on the intermittent use of the tap it has been decided to take it out of service for drinking purposes.
Results are available for review online and at the District office. Madelia Public Schools is making every effort to eliminate or reduce building occupant’s exposure to lead through the drinking water. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this issue, you may contact Theresa Laidig or Tim Harbo through the district office.
