Experts hired by the Butler School District believe that the well water at Summit Township Elementary School has gotten more corrosive over time, which caused copper and lead from plumbing fixtures to dissolve.

Representatives of engineering firm Gannett Fleming Thursday night spoke before the school board and community members at a special meeting held at the Herman Fire Hall.

Gannett Fleming on Jan. 27 collected samples from 13 different locations at the school. They will conduct another round of tests next week before making recommendations to the district sometime next month.

The initial results show that the water taken directly from the well does not contain high levels of lead or copper, though samples taken from inside the building did test at unsafe levels.

“From the results of the first round of tests, it appears basically that the source of the lead and copper is the plumbing components and not the well,” engineer Dan Goncz said.

The school has copper pipes, but many of the pipes are joined by lead soldering, they said.

Copper pipes are safe and still commonly used, but lead pipes and soldering were banned in the United States in 1987, said Eric Buzza, operations specialist with Gannett Fleming.