As many more students and staff became more informed about the water problems at La Cueva High School, the push to have the water tested has become more apparent to APS officials.

Mon. the 25, at around 5 a.m. water testing of 57 faucets from around the school took place. The testing concluded with the eight workers leaving with 115 samples that will be tested by Assaigai Analytical Laboratories Inc. sometime this week.

APS Environmental Management Planner, John Dufay, said “The testing went well, everything went smoothly and as planned.”

The Edition had the water tested themselves. They found that the Arsenic level was two times higher than EPA Standards and the Lead was just over the marker for EPA standards. Meaning that, theoretically, effective action would need to take place.

Dufay also commented by giving a background of the history of the schools water problem by saying that the last sampling for lead was done in 2002. This was five years after a corrosion protection additive was recommended by the EPA to reduce lead levels in 1997. He also spoke on the miscommunications that APS has been having about where La Cueva’s water stands and how regularly it is being tested and what is going to be done about the problem.

Though La Cueva’s water is supposed to be tested on a monthly basis and usually is, it is never being tested for Lead but for more basic things, most of which are not harmful to ones body.

In a recent interview Mr. Dufay said that, “Sometimes it is hard to back track when the last testing was done and what the results were. A lot of people aren’t up to date on what’s being tested and or when it’s happening, there are a lot of miscommunications is the process but we are presently working on a plan of action to help fix the issue.”

The testing for lead was done by a certain protocol required by the EPA; two draws have to be taken from the source of water. The first draw will indicate lead levels in the faucet and the second will be indicating if there are lead levels in the waterline. Before the testing took place, APS decided to have the entire water system flushed for three hours Sunday night.

Once the results are confirmed, APS and the EPA will have the results analyzed and review the EPA protocol to see if action needs to be taken. If there is a problem with the water, Dufay said that a short and long-term response would take place.

The short-term response would be finding spots that are severely affecting the water system and put filters into those areas best as possible.

The long-term response would to start re-piping the domestic water use system as soon as possible. Most of the money that would fund this project would be taken from the Mill Levy bill that was passed last February.