When The Dallas Morning News reported that Woodrow Wilson High School’s drinking water contained elevated levels of lead or copper, parents were understandably concerned. Dallas ISD sent a letter home on Tuesday that explained the purpose of the testing and its results, but it didn’t alleviate many families’ worries. East Dallas trustee Dustin Marshall further discussed the situation on his Facebook page:

Although it’s unclear why Dallas ISD only notified parents about the tests after the article was published, it’s important to note that the high school’s water is, in fact, safe to drink.

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Here’s what you need to know about the water quality testing:

  1.  After lead was discovered in a water fountain at South Oak Cliff High School this past August, Dallas ISD randomly tested the fountains and sinks on all of its 228 campuses in October.
  2. Woodrow Wilson was one of seven schools whose first-round testing results revealed high amounts of copper or lead in the drinking water. The district then conducted a second round of tests with a “more comprehensive sampling strategy,” says Christopher Gray, DISD’s director of environmental health and safety.
  3. Out of seven campuses, second-round tests revealed only three campuses’ drinking water contained high levels of lead or copper, Grays says, none of which are in East Dallas. Those tests showed normal levels of copper and lead in the water at Woodrow Wilson High School, so no fountains or filters were replaced at the school.
  4. In the schools where second-round tests revealed high levels of harmful chemicals, the fountains were replaced.