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Marvin Lee reports all district water tests below EPA lead and copper thresholds
Summary
Marvin Lee, Upper Darby SD director of operations, told the finance and operations committee that all 65 water samples taken in January–February 2026 tested below EPA thresholds for lead (0.015 mg/L) and copper (1.3 mg/L); the district remains ineligible for one federal grant tied to exceedances.
Marvin Lee, director of operations for the Upper Darby School District, said the district’s annual water testing found no exceedances of federal limits for lead or copper. Lee told the finance and operations committee that water samples taken from five locations in each school in January and February 2026 were analyzed by Aqua and that “all 65 testing results came out under the EPA threshold and the most important number in the slide are the zeros highlighted in red.”
Lee said the testing protocol collects 250 milliliters from each of five locations — the kitchen, the nurse’s office, a first‑floor fountain, a second‑floor fountain and a repeat sample from the first‑floor fountain — with water left standing in the pipes between eight and 18 hours before collection. He noted the EPA screening threshold referenced in the presentation as 0.015 mg per liter for lead and 1.3 mg per liter for copper.
Because no samples exceeded those thresholds, Lee said the district was not eligible for a competitive federal Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation grant that his team explored; he said the grant program has about $35 million in total funding nationally. Lee also described facility steps the district has taken to reduce exposure risk, including installing 46 bottle‑filling stations across school floors since 2020, converting old fountains when possible, posting signs in nurse’s offices directing students to bottle stations and advising staff to run kitchen water for 30–120 seconds before use. He said the facilities team will install high‑standard faucets and filters whenever any level of lead is detected.
Committee members offered no questions, and a member thanked Lee for the presentation. Lee said reporting on annual testing and following Act 39 of 2018 procedures remain part of the district’s standard practice; he added the administration will continue seeking grant opportunities when eligible.
Next steps: the committee had no further action on the testing report; the meeting proceeded to a separate policy item and then adjourned.
