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Loudoun County Public Schools strives to maintain healthy educational facilities for students, staff and visitors, a goal which includes ensuring that water supplied by water devices in its facilities meets or exceeds federal and state health standards. At the state level, the LCPS EHS Department is responsible for implementing specific management programs for two contaminants of concern under Code of Virginia regulation § 22.1-138 Minimum Standards for Public School Buildings.

• Lead in Drinking Water Program

• Water Management Program for Prevention of Legionnaires’ Disease

Water is supplied to our facilities from a variety of sources, including regional water utilities, local water utilities, and LCPS-owned wells. Please refer to the table below to look up the water provider for your building. Water providers are responsible for testing supplied water for a variety of organic and inorganic contaminants and responding accordingly to exceedances. 

All water supplied to LCPS facilities is routinely tested by the Utility Provider for Bacteria (total Coliform and E. Coli); Regulated Volatile (VOC) and Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOC) including petroleum-based products, pesticides, herbicides, and industrial chemicals; Lead and Copper; Disinfectant Byproducts; Radiologicals; and inorganics including Nitrate, Nitrite, Fluoride, Hardness, and Sodium. These results are published annually in Consumer Confidence Reports, linked below. 

Loudoun County Public Schools strives to maintain healthy educational facilities for students, staff and visitors, a goal which includes ensuring that water supplied by drinking water devices in its facilities meets or exceeds federal and state health standards.

Management of lead in drinking water supplied in Virginia schools is mandated by Virginia regulation § 22.1-135.1, which took effect July 1, 2017, and guided by a voluntary U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)  program called the 3Ts – Training, Testing, and Taking Action – for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities. Head Start classrooms are additionally regulated under Head Start Performance Standards §1302.47 (b) 10, which took effect in 2024.

Under the 2017 Virginia regulation, local school boards were directed to develop and implement a plan to test and, if necessary, remediate potable water from plumbing fixtures identified by the EPA as a high priority for testing: drinking fountains, cafeteria or kitchen taps, classroom sinks equipped with drinking fountains, and sinks known to be or visibly used for consumption. State school boards are directed to give priority to testing school buildings that were constructed, in whole or in part, before 1986. In Head Start facilities where lead may exist, a program must implement ongoing practices, including testing and inspection at least every two years, with support from trained professionals. As needed, a program must pursue remediation or abatement to prevent lead exposure.

The current lead Action Level designated by the EPA is 15 parts per billion (ppb). The 2017 Virginia regulation was amended in April 2020, requiring local school boards to submit copies of testing plans and sample results to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) and to notify parents if testing results indicate lead concentrations greater than 10 ppb.

Fixtures found to supply water above the 15 ppb EPA Action Level are immediately taken out of service while the lead source is identified and corrected. Appropriate corrective actions may include the replacement of faucets/supply devices, replacement of water piping, implementation of administrative controls, installation of treatment systems, and/or securing alternative water supplies. After these actions are taken, water is retested to confirm that levels are below 15 ppb before a drinking water fixture is put back in use. 

Fixtures found to supply water above the 10 ppb Virginia Reporting Level are reported and flagged for reinspection by the LCPS Environmental Health and Safety Division. 

More information on drinking water testing data and schedules for testing.

Loudoun County Public Schools strives to maintain healthy educational facilities for students, staff, and visitors, a goal which includes ensuring that water supplied by devices in its facilities meets or exceeds federal and state health standards. Management of Legionella pneumophila (Legionella) bacteria in water in Virginia schools is mandated by Virginia regulation § 22.1-138 subsection C, which took effect July 1, 2021. The goal is to ensure that all public school buildings in the state develop and implement a water management program for the prevention of Legionnaires’ disease.

Some types of Legionella bacteria can cause a serious form of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease, or a less serious illness called Pontiac fever. Legionella can become a health concern when it grows and spreads in building water systems such as HVAC cooling towers, hot tubs, and plumbing systems. Legionella growing in a building water system can be transmitted to people through inhalation of aerosolized water droplets. The risk of acquiring Legionnaires’ disease is greater for older people and for those who smoke tobacco or have chronic lung disease.  People whose immune systems are suppressed by certain drugs or by underlying medical conditions appear to be at particularly high risk.

LCPS is working with a third-party contractor to develop individual water management programs for each of its school buildings. This is a multi-stage process which involves system modeling, risk assessment, and the collection of water samples. A phased approach has been adopted - please refer to the following charts summarizing completed and planned Legionella water management plan progress for LCPS facilities. Initial plumbing component summaries were completed for all school buildings in 2022/2023. Screening sampling for Total Legionella and Heterotrophic Plate Counts (HPC) as a baseline for system conditions was completed for all school buildings in Spring 2024 (data summarized below, tab Phase 1). We are currently conducting Annual Validation Sampling for the 2024/2025 school year (data summarized below Phase 2).

Potable water fixtures found to supply water with Legionella present in concentrations greater than or equal to 10 colony-forming units per milliliter of water (CFU/mL) are flushed and flagged for follow-up investigation to determine if amplification is occurring. LCPS will assess maintenance and treatment plans and make adjustments as necessary. After flushing or corrective actions are taken, water is retested to confirm that levels are below 0 CFU/mL. Potable water fixtures found to supply water greater than 10 CFU/mL of Legionella after flushing indicate amplification and trigger corrective actions and adjustments to the control plan as needed. Corrective actions may include disinfection, additional fixture or system flushing, temperature control repairs, replacement of faucets/supply devices, replacement of water piping, implementation of administrative controls, installation of treatment systems, and/or securing alternative water supplies. Additionally, if cases of Legionnaires' disease occur, LCPS will notify appropriate health authorities and take immediate steps to clean and disinfect the system.