PILSEN — A second Pilsen elementary school has tested positive for elevated levels of lead in the water.
Pilsen Elementary Community Academy, a neighborhood school located at 1420 W. 17th St., is one of 20 additional Chicago Public Schools found to have elevated levels of lead in their water since citywide testing began in May, CPS officials announced Friday. To date, 75 schools have failed tests for dangerous levels of the toxic substance.
One sample at Pilsen Academy tested above federal limits of 15 parts per billion, or .015 milligrams of lead per liter of water. Water from the affected sink has been turned off and a remediation plan is being created, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool wrote in a letter to Pilsen parents.
In June, another Pilsen school, Perez Elementary School, also tested positive for lead in water. At Perez, 1241 W. 19th St., five samples tested above federal limits of 15 parts per billion, or .015 milligrams of lead per liter of water.
Parents at all schools failing lead tests have been notified, according to CPS officials. All 324 district schools with pre-K programs that were built before new lead standards took effect in 1986 have been tested.
According to CPS, the district has thus far received readings from 4,000 fixtures at 212 schools, with 130 fixtures failing tests for allowable lead levels. That includes 65 fountains and 65 sinks, or 3.3 percent of all fixtures tested.
CPS Chief Executive Officer Forrest Claypool announced in May that all schools would be tested for lead "out of an abundance of caution" after water tested positive for lead at Tanner Elementary. The tests were prompted by the ongoing water crisis in Flint, Mich.
Concerned CPS parents can find more details at a CPS webpage devoted to the subject.
Serving preschool through eighth-graders, Pilsen Community Academy had 367 students enrolled during the 2015-2016 school year, according to CPS.
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