Remember the days when you came in from recess and slaked your thirst with cool water at the hallway water fountain? Those days are gone in Detroit. Just days before the school year begins, Detroit's Public Schools District will shut off drinking water after elevated levels of copper and lead were found in the latest round of testing in 16 of 24 schools. The announcement was made Tuesday. Water for non-drinking purposes will still be available. Aging buildings and plumbing are probably the cause of the problem. The buildings require $530 million in improvements.
Testing in 2016 was prompted by the Flint, MI lead contamination crisis. A third of the city's schools tested positive for elevated levels of metals. Detroit's municipal water supply conforms to EPA standards, but the elevated levels of metal contamination in the schools' fountains and sinks points to contamination within the school buildings.; Lead is a neurotoxin that can damage child brain development, cause behavioral problems and sicken adults. Copper can cause gastrointestinal distress, and long-term exposure can damage the liver or kidneys. The problem caused the District to line some pipes with a silicate to prevent more leaching of metal into school drinking water. Meanwhile the Trump regime is spending $1.6 billion to build the 'wall' on the southern boarder. In reality, that is very far from the brain of Trump, the money will replace or repair existing fencing