BY LARRY SOBCZAK
EDITOR
Officials found high levels of copper in the water at Romeo High School during a screening performed this month.
Water samples taken at Romeo High School were found to contain between 1,700 and 2,200 micrograms of copper per liter of water.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s guidelines dictate that copper levels should fall below 1,300 micrograms per liter of water.
“Beginning immediately, water coolers will be provided throughout the building for drinking water and for cooking,’ Romeo Community Schools Superintendent Eric Whitney wrote in a letter sent to parents of students at the school.
The school has hired DiHydro to treat the pipes at the school with a silica injection system that will coat the plumbing to reduce or eliminate the leaching of copper into the drinking water.
Whitney said that silica is a safe and food grade approved remedy for eliminating copper issues.
Unlike lead, copper is an essential element in small amounts to ensure good health in a person’s diet. The body has a natural mechanism for maintaining the proper level of copper in it, but too much copper can cause adverse health effects, including vomiting, diarrhea, stomach cramps and nausea.
Whitney said that DiHyrdro will retest the water in 30 days to determine if water from the tap can be consumed at the school.
The tests were conducted as a precautionary measure after recent news of high lead contamination in Flint.
No lead was found at the high school or any of the school district’s buildings.
No copper or any other contaminants were found in any buildings in the school district.
Romeo High School is connected to Romeo’s water system which draws its water supply from wells in and around the village.
Romeo Village Clerk Mike Lee said that he spoke with employees at the Romeo Department of Public Works (DPW) and with school district officials and does not believe the copper contamination originates from the village water supply.
“It’s an isolated incident,” he said. “The only place affected is the high school.”
He said that the DPW regularly samples water according to law and it has not found any problems. He also said that if there was a problem with the village water supply that the other schools and school district buildings would have also shown a problem.
Lee also noted that the village has been keeping up with its water system over the past few decades.
“Our water lines were switched over to new lines in the 1980s and 1990s,” he said. “We have a new water tower. Everything is up to date.”
