Rachel Jacobson, then-assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy and environment, talks about school lunch with one of the students at Ansbach Elementary School in Katterbach, Germany, on Feb. 21, 2024. Elevated levels of lead were recently discovered in the water at four sinks at the school. (Jonathan Bell/U.S. Army)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — An Army garrison in Bavaria is replacing faucets at a Defense Department school after four sinks there registered elevated lead levels.
The readings were taken at Ansbach Elementary School on Katterbach Kaserne in early April during annual water quality tests, U.S. Army Garrison Ansbach spokesman Nathan Van Schaik said Friday.
Lead was not found in any of the school’s designated drinking fountains or bottle-filling stations, which are equipped with high-quality filters, Van Schaik said. The school notified parents Wednesday.
“If lead is found at any water outlet at levels above 10 parts per billion (0.01 milligrams per liter), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking action to reduce the lead,” Van Schaik said.
The elevated levels were found in rooms 16A, 35A, 46A, and 109C, Van Schaik said. The respective readings were 0.05, 0.026, 0.017 and 0.026 milligrams per liter. Information on whether those rooms are used for classes wasn’t available Friday.
Results of the testing came back April 24, Van Schaik said, and base commander Col. Aaron Southard issued a memo to the community Tuesday.
The base posted “no drinking” signs at all sinks until further testing could be done, Southard wrote in the memo.
It also started replacing faucets in the affected rooms and at the school at large. Follow-up testing on all school sinks and drinking fountains is scheduled for Saturday.
Three family housing units at Katterbach also registered lead levels above the EPA threshold and had their kitchen faucets replaced, Van Schaik said.
Lead usually enters the water system when lead plumbing materials corrode, the EPA website states. It is seen mostly in the U.S. in older cities and homes.
Ansbach Elementary opened in 1986 and accommodates students through fifth grade.
Testing on base takes place in family housing areas and places with children under age 6 at least once within a five-year cycle, Van Schaik said. Sampling takes place at the school annually.
The EPA has a maximum contaminant level goal of zero for lead in drinking water because the substance is toxic to humans, and particularly to children.
