BEARDEN -- Drinking water at the Bearden School District's 11 buildings tested safe for consumption, the superintendent has advised parents, and faculty and staff members.
The Arkansas Health Department tested water samples for lead at the school district last week after learning that the Ouachita County town's drinking water had tested at 3 parts per billion higher than the level at which the federal government requires water systems to adjust corrosion levels. The earlier samples were not taken from school district property.
Still, as a precaution the school district had allowed students to drink bottled water that either the district or the students provided. Pupils also were offered filtered water and were allowed to continue drinking from the water fountains if they preferred.
In a letter dated Tuesday, Bearden Superintendent Denny Rozenberg quoted Jeff Stone, director of the Health Department's engineering section that deals with drinking water, as saying that "the results of the recently submitted lead and copper samples from the Bearden Schools are very good, and all results are below the levels which would indicate problem with corrosion."
"The school and its students should be reassured by these results," Stone added.
Until December, Bearden's water system had always tested well, Stone said last week.
"We do not consider this situation to be an emergency situation where people should stop utilizing their [regular] drinking water," Stone said. "Rather, it's an indication the system needs to address their corrosion control."
Stone said he understood that Bearden already has started looking at treatment adjustments to try to better control its corrosion after learning about the problem.
State Desk on 01/19/2017