Testing of 196 water samples taken from the Butler School District's buildings found one water fixture with a high level of lead and 38 others that were at or just above the minimum-detectable amount for lead.

Acting Superintendent William Pettigrew said that these fixtures were taken out of service after the district learned the results.

Officials are now working to identify and fix problems with those fixtures before they will used again, he said.

As a precaution, the district voluntarily had samples collected from all water fountains and high-use sinks that get water from Pennsylvania American Water Company tested for lead and copper. Engineering firm Gannett-Fleming collected the samples from fixtures, which had been left sitting stagnant overnight, to be sent away for testing in late February.

The state Department of Environmental Protection has “action levels” of 15 parts per billion for lead and 1,300 ppb for copper, though the school would not be required to notify the public and create an action plan unless more than 10 percent of samples were at or above those levels. Summit Township Elementary is the only school in the district with well water, which makes it the only school at which the DEP requires testing.

A drinking fountain in Room 11 at Center Avenue Community School had 1,510 parts per billion of copper and a water fixture in a conference room at the Intermediate High School had 18 parts per billion of lead.

DEP does not specify a safe level of lead content in drinking water, nor does it order schools or other institutions to shut off water service for lead contamination, though it does provide guidelines for addressing contamination.

Fixtures that had at least 1 ppb of lead were found in five buildings: the Intermediate and Senior high schools, McQuistion Elementary, Northwest Elementary and the administration building. The Intermediate High School had 21 fixtures with lead.