Students and staff at Summit Township Elementary School in Butler County are continuing to be instructed not to drink the water from the well on the property due to high levels of lead.
According to a press release issued Friday by the Butler Area School District, elevated lead readings from the well were first detected in September by a maintenance supervisor following a test.
The supervisor notified the Department of Environmental Protection about it and had everyone drink bottled water for two days.
However, on Thursday, the superintendent ordered that all students and staff start drinking bottled water again. Superintendent Dr. Dale Lumley says he was never notified that lead levels were still elevated and made the decision on his own to ban everyone from using well water until further notice.
On Friday, parents were issued a letter from the school and the DEP telling them about the high lead levels.
Officials are expected to come in over the next several days to investigate the water situation and students and staff will be instructed to drink bottled water until the situation is corrected.
The Butler Area School Board is scheduled to meet tonight for their monthly meeting.
