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FACILITIES SERVICES DIVISION DRINKING WATER QUALITY PROGRAM BUDGET, FACILITIES AND AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING OCTOBER 4, 2016 MARK HOVATTER ROBERT LAUGHTON
FACILITIES SERVICES DIVISION DRINKING WATER QUALITY PROGRAM
BUDGET, FACILITIES AND AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING
OCTOBER 4, 2016
MARK HOVATTER ROBERT LAUGHTON
SAFE DRINKING WATER
¡ Goal: Every student, staff member and campus visitor has easy access to fresh, clean and safe tap water to drink
We need to make drinking water from the tap cool again
DRINKING WATER FROM THE TAP BECAME UNCOOL
¡ Perceptions ¡ Bad Taste ¡ Not Safe
¡ All of the cool people drink commercially bottled water ¡ Costs 3-5 times as much as gasoline per gallon ¡ Bad for the environment ¡ Most people don’t drink as much water as they should if they only
drink commercially bottled water
THE AGE OF FLUSHING
¡ Myths and Legends ¡ Tap water has to be filtered
¡ If a bubbler is not flushed in the morning it is not safe to drink from it all day
¡ If a faucet is labeled “not certified safe to drink” the water has lead in it
¡ You have to wipe your hands off with disinfecting wipes after you wash your hands
¡ If a teacher certifies that a drinking fountain has been flushed, they are liable if someone ends up with problems traced to that fountain
ROBERT LAUGHTON DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Flushing Program
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Background 2. Remediation Process
3. New Goals
4. Challenges
5. Next Steps
6. Questions
7. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
¡ It’s a poison and can be toxic
¡ It’s a neurotoxin that effects the brain and nervous system
¡ It impacts a pregnant woman’s fetus
¡ Children are impacted more than adults
¡ There are multiple sources of exposure
Why is Lead a Concern?
� The medical community has not been able to determine a safe blood lead level in children.
� In the 1990’s, lead poisoning was the most common environmental disease in young children.
� Lead poisoning affects all socio-economic groups but tends to be higher in low income areas.
� In the 1940’s and 1950’s, deaths due to lead poisoning in children were common.
HOW MUCH LEAD IS TOO MUCH?
HOW LONG HAS THE WATER FLUSHING POLICY BEEN IN PLACE?
Since 1988!
REFERENCE GUIDE 3930.5
� Requires daily flushing of all consumable water sources
� Maintains paper logs for flushing records
� Requires Principals to certify online that all fountains were flushed daily, including classrooms
� Local District Superintendent is responsible for adherence to the policy
� Must certify online by the 15th of each month, for the preceding month
� Monthly conformance tracked by OEHS, and the data circulated to senior management
IF A LINE IS NOT FLUSHED, THE FIRST STUDENT TO DRINK FROM THE FOUNTAIN COULD BE
EXPOSED TO LEAD!
FLUSHING COMPLIANCE
A COMMON MYTH
Newer schools have better plumbing and cleaner water, therefore, daily flushing isn’t important.
WRONG!
FACT: The age of the school DOES NOT determine the quality of it’s drinking water.
Sample Schools % of faucets below action level
Elementary School built in 1913 100%
Middle School built in 1969 65%
High School built in 2009 44%
The age of the building is not relevant: Newer schools have tested positive for lead
HOW DOES LEAD GET INTO DRINKING WATER?
� Until 1988, solder materials for
copper piping were 50% lead and 50% tin.
� Faucets and Valves made of brass: Until January 1, 2011 brass could contain up to 8% lead.
� When water stays stagnant, lead may leach out
Summary
MARK HOVATTER
Actions to Eliminate Flushing Requirement
OBJECTIVES
¡ Provide quality drinking water to all LAUSD students
¡ Manage, mitigate, and eliminate the flushing certification requirement
Maintenance and Operations is surveying and sampling drinking water outlets at all school sites and is taking corrective action if needed. The program also includes periodic testing in each school and reporting the results.
BACKGROUND
Board of Education (BOE)
¾ The BOE approved $10 million in 2010 to begin mitigation efforts at Early Education Centers and Elementary Schools
¾ The BOE approved Board Report 017-15/16 (September 1, 2015 )
¾ Program Budget: $19,831,708
¾ 1000 Sites
¾ Construction Schedule: Q3-2015 through Q4-2017
¾ Expended $5,046,651 as of September 19, 2016
BACKGROUND
REMEDIATION
2. Water Sampling
3. Remediate Fixtures
Over Action Level
4. Re-sample
Remediated Fixtures
5. Work with OEHS
6. Exempt Letter to School
1. Survey ¾ Surveys Completed - 894 school sites (89%)
¾ Evaluation of Sampling Completed - 300 school sites (30%)
¾ Flushing Exemption Letters Issued - 113 school sites (11%)
¾ Total Number of Bottle Fillers installed - 17 at 14 Schools
LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Dr. Eloísa Gonzalez, MD, MPH
Director, Cardiovascular and School Health Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER
Melinda Rho
Manager of Regulatory Affairs & Consumer Protection, Water Quality Division
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
Water Quality Briefing for LAUSD Board of Education
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October 4, 2016 LADWP Water System
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I. Drinking Water Regulations II. Proactive Measures at LADWP III. Expanded Testing and Community Outreach
Compliance with Drinking Water Regula6ons
• Prohibition on Use of Lead Pipes, Solders, and Flux for all potable water systems (SDWA 1986)
• USEPA Lead Contamination Control Act of 1988 (Advisory) covers other entities such as schools and daycare centers
• USEPA Lead and Copper Rule 1991 applies to Public Water Systems
• California Lead Abatement Act 2009 • Federal Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act 2011
Legislative History
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• LADWP continues to supply 200 billion gallons of safe drinking water to 4 million residents and businesses in the city of Los Angeles
• The water surpasses all drinking water standards for health and safety set by USEPA and State of California
• Each year we collect more than 30,000 samples throughout the city and perform more than 150,000 water quality tests
• We test for more than 200 regulated and unregulated substances
Compliance with Regulations
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• Most recent City-wide monitoring results for Lead and Copper in 2015
• 90th percentile for lead was 6.3 ppb (<15 ppb AL) • 90th percentile for copper was 579 ppb (<1300 ppb AL) • Lowest lead levels observed since monitoring began
in 1992
Current Lead & Copper Results
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LADWP’s Proac-ve Approach to mi-gate Lead & Copper:
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þ Completed a cement mortar lining program of all distribution system pipe to reduce internal pipe corrosion (1940-2005)
þ Completed lead “gooseneck“ service connection removal program 1985-2005 (~15,000); Field verified: No lead service lines in the distribution system
þ Adopted material specifications for low/no-lead fittings and materials (per NSF/ ANSI 61 and NSF/ANSI 372)
þ Low lead meter replacement program began in 1998 @ 25,000 per year & LAUSD meters (over 375,000 cumulative meter replacements)
þ Corrosion Control testing began in mid 1980’s for system optimization (ZOP and Ortho-Phosphate addition)
>> RESULT: Low lead (0.3 ppb) and copper (18 ppb) in the distribution system & below Action Levels in the Lead & Copper Rule
Goals for expanded Lead, Copper Sampling Program
q Recruit more Tier 1 single family residences
q Mul6-‐family residences in coordina6on with Housing Authority (HACLA)
q Daycares and Headstart programs in coordina6on with the Children’s Ins6tute
q Provide technical assistance for LAUSD to help meet their goals
q Provide workshops for community and health, educa6onal organiza6ons
PILOT PROGRAM
Mathew Medrano, Teacher
Green Design School, Diego Rivera Learning Complex
¡ Installation of Bottle Fillers at all School Sites
- Average Cost per Bottle Filler: $4,135 (cost includes installation)
ADDITIONAL GOALS
CHALLENGES
Posi-ons Posi-ons Required Posi-ons Filled
Complex Project Manager 1 0
Maintenance Workers 11 11
Plumbing Supervisors 3 3
Engineering Aides 4 0
Administra6ve Analysts 3 2
Senior Plumbers 3 3
Plumbers 14 5
Tile Layer 1 1
Plasterer 1 0
Painter 1 0
TOTAL 42 25
Program Staffing
¡ New Emerging Bottle Filler Technology
¡ Identifying safe, refillable bottles
¡ Standardization of Bottle Fillers
¡ Identifying Bottle Filler Locations
¡ Filling Stations must be accessible to all
¡ Training of schools students and staff
CHALLENGES CONT.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
¡ Reduces waste; throw-away plastic bottles
¡ California is in a drought
¡ Eliminating flushing will save on average 9,500 gallons of water each day or nearly 2.5 million gallons a year (based on an estimate of 20 ounces of water loss per 30 seconds)
¡ Filling stations can save up to 7 million gallons of water per year
¡ Eliminating flushing will save on average 500 hours each day or nearly 130,000 hours per year of custodial and administrative staff flushing all active bubblers daily (Based on 30 seconds spent for each active bubbler)
BENEFITS OF FILLING STATIONS
There are approximately 42,814 bubblers throughout the District
¡ Continue Current Sampling and Remediation Efforts
¡ Continue Training at Each School Site Where Remediation has been Completed
¡ Continue Installation of Bottle Fillers
¡ Continue Recruiting & Hiring Required Staff
NEXT STEPS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. What is the Drinking Water Quality Program? The program objec6ve is to manage the drinking water quality in schools. The program will also eliminate the flushing cer6fica6on requirement for drinking water sources at all school sites
2. What will M&O staff members be doing at school sites? M&O staff will visit all school sites to survey and sample drinking water outlets. They will also install signage on all non-‐drinking water sources
3. How long will it take to survey each site? It will take approximately 1-‐2 days for an elementary school, 2-‐3 days for a middle school, and 3-‐4 days for a high school
4. How long will it take to sample the outlets? It will take approximately 5-‐10 minutes per outlet
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS CONT.
5. Will there be any disrup-ons to the learning environment while M&O staff survey and sample?
The M&O staff will survey sites while school is in session. However, their work will not disrupt the learning environment. Sampling will be done early in the morning before students arrive, on weekends, or holidays with no disrup6ons to the learning environment
6. Will there be any addi-onal work done at school sites? If addi6onal work is needed, it will be coordinated with the site administrator and the Complex Project Manager (CPM)
7. How can I get addi-onal informa-on about the program? School administrators can contact the Complex Project Manager for their respec6ve sites for addi6onal informa6on. They may also visit the Drinking Water Quality Program website at: hXp://www.laschools.org/new-‐site/mo/drinking-‐water
QUESTIONS?
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