SCHOOL W TER:
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE A LOOK INTO WATER CONTAMINATION, SAFETY On Dec. 19, 2019, the Indy Star released a story that addressed the White River’s 2018 drinking water report, revealing that the 300 mile river that provides most of central Indiana with tap water contains two potentially harmful chemicals— atrazine and nitrate. Although both substances are under federal mandate and carefully monitored by water cleaning facilities, the findings raised concerns. Atrazine, the most common corn herbicide in the U.S., is an endocrine disrupter and has been banned in the European Union since 2003 due to connections with increased infant mortality rate and conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Nitrate, originating from fertilizer, manure, or leaking septic systems, can cause Blue Baby Syndrome in young children by replacing oxygen in the bloodstream with nitrogen, asphyxiating their body and brain. In order to eliminate that risk, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limited nitrate levels in drinking water to 10 part per million (ppm) in 1962. The White River’s current nitrate levels are only 4.8 ppm, well under the EPA’s maximum, but recent research reveals that even small amounts of nitrate exposure could lead to cancer or birth defects. The EPA began a reassessment of nitrate’s health effects in 2015, but suspended the review in April 2019 after declaring the substance was not of priority for the year. For now, the quality of the White River’s water is satisfactory, THE ORB and with the technology and diligence that goes
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into most water treatment facilities, dangerous contamination is not an issue. However, two boil water advisories were announced for parts of both Noblesville and Fishers within the past month, adding another wrinkle in the issue of Indiana’s water quality.
“We do test all of buildings, the last test was done this last spring in April 2019. We tested six different locations of HSEHS.” On Jan. 13, 2020, Indiana American Water advised all of it’s customers to boil their water before consumption for the next 24 hours. At White River North treatment facility, a water tank’s pressure dropped below 20 psi due to a malfunction, risking exposure to potentially harmful bacteria through ground leakage. Noblesville Schools were closed the next day in order to keep their students safe. “I hadn’t heard of anything like that happening before,” Katelyn Decker, a junior at Noblesville High School said. “Even after it was all over, I was still a little hesitant to drink the water.” Another advisory was sent out by
Indiana American Water on Jan. 19, but schools were not affected, and it was lifted the next day. At the White River North water treatment facility in Noblesville, all malfunctions have been fixed and the water is completely safe to consume without any precautionary measures. With all this discussion of Indiana’s water quality being compromised from source to distribution, it is only reasonable to question how Hamilton Southeastern fares in the face of this issue. Matthew Rapp, district Maintenance Manager, confirms that the HSE Schools tests multiple water sources every year for harmful chemicals by recommendation requirements of the Indiana Department of Education. “We do test all of our buildings,” Rapp said. “The last test was done this last spring in April 2019. We tested six different locations of HSE High School”. The testing was conducted by the Hoosier Microbiological Laboratory and overseen by Dr. Donald Hendrickson. The reports revealed that all six water sources tested under the EPA’s federal mandate for lead, making HSE’s water safe to use and consume. However, other Indiana schools cannot say the same. In a report published by the Marion County Health Department in January 2019, 159 school facilities out of the 259 tested had higher than allowable levels of lead. According to the Mayo Clinic, even small amounts of lead can cause health problems, but as lead builds up in the body over time one can develop lead poisoning. In children, this can cause
