Health district gives Mt. Hall water clean bill of health

Boundary County School District has received a clean bill of health on the drinking water at Mt. Hall Elementary School.

“The uranium is at an acceptable level so the water is in compliance,” said Superintendent Dr. Don Bartling.

A few months ago, the school district installed a filtering system that purifies the water coming from Mission Creek Water System. That was after it was determined that water from the system supplied to Mt. Hall had uranium levels twice the amount allowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Initially, the school had purchased 100, five-gallon bottles of water to use until the filtering system was installed. A reverse osmosis system for cooking and drinking water was installed at a cost of $3,781.

In a March 6 letter to the school district from Panhandle Health District, environmental health specialist Erik Ketner indicated he visited the school on Feb. 25. Ketner also spoke to Idaho State Plumbing Inspector Will Hoygaard.

“According to Mr. Hoygaard, the installation of the system was completed properly and met all the requirements of the Idaho State Plumbing Bureau,” Ketner wrote in the letter to the school district.

In addition, Anatek Labs indicated samples taken at the school fall below the Federal Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant Level.

“As such, the water treated by the reverse osmosis system is acceptable for consumption and use in food preparation,” Ketner wrote.

He also commended the school district for its immediate action.