Challenge

One-third of the drinking water outlets tested exceeded the EPA limit of 15 parts per billion (PPB), with the highest at almost 3000 PPB.

Chicago Public Schools’ policy dictates that when levels in any individual drinking water outlet exceed 15 PPB, students’ parents and legal guardians must be contacted and made aware of the issue. This raises major health and safety concerns for students and their families, and future liability concerns for the school and administrators.

Solution

Orr High School’s staff struggled for nearly a year before finding a viable means of controlling the issue.

In September 2017, eighteen Noah Water Quality Maintenance units were installed across the school’s 36 drinking water outlets after classes had ended for the day. Units flushed each drinking water outlet for one minute every two hours.