Seattle Public Schools

Environmental Health Issues and Water Quality

Drinking Water Quality Program

Drinking Water Quality at Seattle Public Schools

Seattle Public Schools considers student health and safety as a top priority. In 2004, our School Board adopted a Drinking Water policy and we implemented a set of rigorous protocols which established nationally recognized standards for safe drinking water quality in public schools. Those included periodic testing of each drinking water source in each school, coupled with reporting of the results.

In 2021, the Washington State legislature adopted new laws that reduced the levels of lead in drinking water that will meet their standard. The new legislation also requires that all water quality testing be conducted by the State Department of Health (DOH) or by contractors certified by them. Seattle Public Schools can no longer perform sampling and testing that will comply with the new requirements.

Water Quality School Report

Historical results for all schools are still available online. You can find reports for each school (generally a summary of the current status, and results for ten years of testing performed between 2010-2020). 

Available below are results from past and current water quality tests between 2010-2020.

Sinks (S in the report) are not considered drinking water sources.  We recognize that there is the potential for students to want to drink from classroom hand-washing sinks, so we test all of those. Where a student’s choice to drink from a sink could be a problem, we post a reminder sign, as we do at all restroom sinks.


Adams
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Raising Star @ A.A.A.
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Aki Kurose
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Alki
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Arbor Heights
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

B.F. Day
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Bailey Gatzert
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

James Baldwin
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Ballard
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Beacon Hill
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Boren (K-8 STEM)
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Martin Luther King (Brighton)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Broadview-Thomson
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Bryant
Summary Status
Results for the past ten years

Cascadia
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Catharine Blaine
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Cedar Park
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Chief Sealth
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Cleveland
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Coe
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Columbia
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Columbia Annex (closed)

Concord
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Cooper (Pathfinder)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Daniel Bagley
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Dearborn Park
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Decatur
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Denny
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Dunlap
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Eckstein
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Emerson
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Fairmount Park
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Franklin
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Garfield
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Gatewood
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Genesee Hill
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Graham Hill
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Green Lake
Summary Status
Result for the past ten years

Greenwood
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Hamilton
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Hawthorne
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Highland Park
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Hughes
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Ingraham
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Jane Addams
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

John Hay
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

John Marshall
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

John Muir
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

John Rogers
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (JSCEE)
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

John Stanford International School (Latona)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Kimball
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Lafayette
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Laurelhurst
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Lawton
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Leschi
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Lincoln
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Lowell
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Loyal Heights
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Madison
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Magnolia
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Madrona
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Mann (NOVA)
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Maple
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

McClure
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

McDonald
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

McGilvra
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Meany
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Memorial Stadium
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Mercer
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Montlake
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Nathan Hale
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

North Beach
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

North Queen Anne
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Olympic Hills
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Olympic View
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Pinehurst (Hazel Wolf)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Queen Anne (@ Old Hay)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Rainier Beach
Summary Status
Result for the past 10 years

Rainier View
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Robert Eagle Staff
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Roosevelt
Summary Status
Result for the past ten years

Roxhill
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Sacajawea
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Salmon Bay at Monroe
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Sanislo

Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Sand Point
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Schmitz Park (closed)

Seward (TOP)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Alan T. Sugiyama High School at South Lake
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

South Shore
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Stevens
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

T.T. Minor
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Thornton Creek
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Thurgood Marshall
Summary Status
Result for the past ten years

(Old) Van Asselt
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

View Ridge
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Viewlands
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Washington
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Webster
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Wedgwood
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

West Seattle Elementary (High Point)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

West Seattle High School
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

West Woodland
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Whitman
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Whittier
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Whitworth (ORCA)
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Wing Luke
Summary Status
Results for the past 10 years

Frequently Asked Questions

Do any drinking water fixtures in SPS schools test above 10 ppb for lead?
No.

Do any SPS schools non-drinking water fixtures, like sinks, test above 10ppb lead?
Some do. When that happens, we post a sign reminding students (and everyone else) that it is not a drinking water source. Students and staff are made aware that our fountains/bubblers are the drinking water sources and that sinks are not drinking water sources. As the EPA points out, “Bathing and showering should be safe for you and your children, even if the water contains lead over EPA’s action level. Human skin does not absorb lead in water.”

What is the standard in Seattle Public Schools?
In 2004, SPS adopted the Drinking Water Quality Program that established the lead level at 10 parts per billion. Our standards exceed the national standard of 15ppb.

How often are drinking water sources in Seattle schools tested for lead?
Every three years. Our testing program is somewhat unique, in that we are one of only a few school districts in the state to regularly test drinking water for lead. Our local levies support this additional level of safety for our students, staff and families. There is no state or federal standard that requires or recommends that schools test for lead in drinking water.

How many drinking water fixtures are in the school district?
There are approximately 2,600 drinking water fixtures in our schools.

Does drinking water contain lead?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), virtually all drinking water contains some amount of lead. This is largely because of plumbing materials used in water systems. Congress addressed the issue in 1974 when the Safe Drinking Water Act became federal law. This law requires municipal water sources like Seattle Public Utilities to provide safe drinking water that meets EPA requirements.

Is there an acceptable level of lead in drinking water?
The EPA has established a lead action level of more than 15 parts per billion (ppb). Therefore, according to the EPA, the acceptable level of lead in drinking water is 15ppb or less.