An initial round of lead and copper testing in Wareham schools found that 10 percent of all water fountains and sinks were unsafe to drink from and that 19 percent of one elementary school’s water sources were contaminated, including eight drinking fountains.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection released the figures on Friday after Wareham participated in a water testing program funded through a state grant.

According to MassDEP data, testing was performed on 798 faucets and drinking fountains in late November and mid-December at Wareham High School, Wareham Middle School, Minot Forest Elementary and John W. Decas School, which caters to kindergarten, first and second grade students. Of those, 81 fixtures tested positive for higher than allowed levels of lead, copper or both.

To view statewide results from lead and copper testing, click here.

On Friday afternoon, school officials released a statement saying subsequent tests, performed after the system was flushed, showed that a total of six water sources had elevated levels of copper and/or lead. Officials noted that parents and students had been notified and that steps were taken to reduce the lead and copper levels, which include a daily flushing or turning off the fixtures that tested above state limits.

John W. Decas School

At Decas, initial results showed that of the 162 fixtures tested, 31 showed elevated levels of lead or copper. Of those, eight were drinking fountains. The MassDEP level of lead that warrants corrective action is 15 parts per billion, which equals .015 milligrams per liter. The copper threshold is 1.3 milligrams per liter, which equals 1.3 parts per million.

Test results from a drinking fountain in Room E-8 showed that the lead level was .028 milligrams per liter while the copper level was 1.35 milligrams per liter. Drinking fountains in Rooms B-4, E-10, E-6, E-2, C-8 and C-4 also showed elevated levels of lead, with the fountains in Room E-2 and Room E-6 testing eight and four and half times higher than allowed, respectively. A drinking fountain in Room E-4 tested positive for copper.

Wareham High School

In Wareham High School, a total of 80 fixtures were tested with 12 failing, mostly showing elevated copper levels. Of those, nine were drinking water sources.

Two sources on the water cooler outside Room 258 failed (2.83 for copper and 2.1 for copper), as did the water cooler outside Room 251 (1.52 for copper and 1.91 for copper), the water cooler outside staff Room 146 (3.89 for copper and .019 for lead), a second water cooler outside staff Room 146 (1.46 for copper and .019 for lead) and another water cooler that the MassDEP did not provide a location for (1.55 for copper).

Wareham Middle School

At Wareham Middle School, no drinking fountains showed elevated levels of copper or lead. Of the 338 fixtures tested, 29 sinks were above state limits for lead or copper. Twenty-three sinks showed elevated copper levels while the remainder had high lead levels.

Minot Forest Elementary

In Minot Forest, 218 fixtures were tested with nine showing higher than allowed lead levels. Drinking fountains in Rooms 7, 34 and 24 showed lead levels of .017, .098 and .071, respectively.

Health risks

According to the MassDEP, lead causes delays in physical and mental development and children could show slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, lead causes kidney problems and high blood pressure. A common cause of lead in water comes from corrosion of household plumbing systems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, there is no safe blood lead level for children. Even low levels have shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention and academic achievement.

The CDC says effects of lead cannot be corrected, and the most important step that parents can take is to prevent exposure before it occurs. The CDC recommends that parents have their child’s blood tested by a doctor to measure the level of lead in their blood if they are concerned about exposure.

For more information on the health effects of lead, click here.

For more information on drinking water contaminants, click here.