The Anne Arundel County Public Schools district says officials have found unacceptable levels of lead in 5 percent of all water outlets that have undergone testing since March 2018. School officials say they have been working on the district's lead issues for months.
The Capital Gazette reports that percentage represents 672 outlets with unacceptable levels of lead in Anne Arundel County.
Recently, tests at Annapolis and Old Mill high schools have uncovered elevated lead at 10 and 11 outlets, respectively. In both of those schools, at least one contaminated outlet could have been used for drinking, according to the Gazette.
Consumable outlets with high levels represent less than 1 percent of the district's 13,322 outlets at 116 school sites. That means 105 consumable water outlets across the school system were contaminated with lead, according to the Gazette.
A spokeswoman for the school system, Maneka Monk, says nine schools have yet to post results.
The school district has until July 1 to complete testing.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends shutting off water at any faucet where lead levels exceed 20 parts per billion. School officials say they've done so at the affected outlets, which will be replaced and remain inoperable until they're retested.
