BUTLER TWP — Water samples from five randomly selected faucets in Summit Township Elementary School still have high levels of copper and lead.

Butler Superintendent Brian White discussed with the school board Monday night the latest report from engineering firm Gannet Fleming about the water testing and ongoing work at the school.

The school was hooked up to a newly installed Pennsylvania American water line in August and the district started running water through the school's pipes and testing the water for pH and chlorine levels.

On Sept. 20, two sets of samples were drawn from five faucets and also from the school's boiler room.

The samples from the boiler room had almost no detectable lead and were below the state Department of Environmental Protection's action level for copper.

All five of the “first draw” samples, which were taken after water had been sitting stagnant in the pipes, tested above DEP's action level of 15 parts per billion for lead. The highest result was 34 parts per billion in the kitchen.

The second draw samples from Sept. 20 showed lower levels of lead and copper with only one fixture exceeding the copper action level, according to the report. However, two of the second draw samples still had detectable levels of lead with results of 4 and 5 parts per billion.

Gannet Fleming's recommendation, White said, was to replace the five fixtures and collect more samples for testing. It takes about 10 days to get test results.

The second batch of tests will help determine if the fixtures were the problem, or if district officials need to consider replacing lateral pipes or looking into other options.

They will eventually test every water fixture in the school before making a recommendation to bring students back in, the report said.

Though the school has been taken off well water, engineers had previously told the board that it would take time for the school's pipes to stop giving off lead and copper as they are coated in phosphate contained in the public water.

At the request of school board members, White said he would ask for a Gannet Fleming representative to come to the next school board meeting to discuss the test results and take questions about possible courses of action.

Gannet Fleming and the district are also looking into the possibility of installing “ePipe,” an epoxy resin product that would coat and seal the pipes.

The school has been closed since February, when the board voted to move the students and teachers to the vacant Broad Street Elementary School while it worked to address the lead issue.

Board member Bill Halle asked if the district would set a “drop dead date,” after which it would opt to keep students at Broad Street for the rest of the year.

White said that, when the school is ready, the administration would have a discussion with parents and teachers before making a decision.

“If it takes until March, we will come back and say 'do you want to move now?'” he said.

He said they would likely develop a plan to move desks and materials back into the school over a four-day weekend.