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Here Are The Parks In Logan Square, Humboldt Park With High Lead Levels

By Mina Bloom | October 24, 2016 5:53am
 Kosciuszko Park, 2732 N. Avers Ave.
Kosciuszko Park, 2732 N. Avers Ave.
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DNAinfo/Mina Bloom

LOGAN SQUARE — The Logan Square park with the highest lead levels in its drinking fountains was Kosciuszko Park, a sprawling, 8-acre park that sits on the western border of the neighborhood.

The Chicago Park District recently announced that water at 200 Chicago parks tested positive for elevated levels of lead. 

The agency conducted tests on 2,435 indoor and outdoor drinking water sources and found approximately 43 percent of Chicago's parks had elevated levels of lead in water from at least one sink or drinking fountain, according to the results.

Three percent of the district's indoor sinks and drinking water fountains tested positive for elevated levels, park district spokeswoman Jessica Maxey-Faulkner said.

About 24 percent of the district's outdoor drinking water fountains tested positive for elevated levels of lead, Maxey-Faulkner said.

The Environmental Protection Agency considers water with less than 15 parts per billion of lead to be safe.

Officials said all of the fixtures that tested positive for high levels of lead have been shut down.

Among the highest test results were at Avalon Park, 1215 E. 83rd St., where water with 1,800 parts per billion of lead was found in an outdoor drinking water fountain. Another fountain in the South Side park had 1,200 parts per billion, according to the test results. 

Dedicated in 1916, Kosciuszko Park is Logan Square's largest park. It's known for its indoor swimming pool and large Tudor revival-style field house designed by Albert A. Schwartz.

Here's a list of the affected parks in Logan Square and Humboldt Park:

Holstein Park, 2200 N. Oakley Ave.: One of the park's three fountains tested for 210 parts per billion of lead.

Citizens Memorial Park, 2228 N. Oakley Ave.: The park's only outdoor fountain tested for 58 parts per billion of lead.

Maple Playlot Park, 2047 N. Spaulding Ave.: The park's only outdoor fountain tested for 86.6 parts per billion of lead.

Mozart Park, 2036 N. Avers Ave.: The park's only outdoor fountain tested for 16.6 parts per billion of lead.

Kosciuszko Park, 2732 N. Avers Ave.: The park has seven outdoor fountains, and two tested for high lead levels: One at 92.1 parts per billion of lead and the other at 105 parts per billion of lead.

Simons Park, 1640 N. Drake Ave.: The park has two outdoor fountains, and both tested for high lead levels: One at 16.6 parts per billion of lead and the other at 18.9 parts per billion of lead.

Ohio and Harding Park, 601 N. Harding Ave.: The park has two outdoor fountain, and both tested for high lead levels: One at 22.7 parts per billion of lead and the other at 21.3 parts per billion of lead.

Kells Playground Park, 3201 W. Chicago Ave.: The park's only outdoor fountain tested for 18.1 parts per billion of lead.

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