Cascade School District develops remediation plan after lead detected in water sources

LEAVENWORTH — Cascade School District is in the process of implementing an action plan after state-mandated testing detected elevated lead levels in 11 water outlets: two fountains at the District Office/HomeLink building and nine sinks at Icicle River Middle School.

“We are not anticipating a need to raise taxes in order to mitigate these findings. We are applying for grants from the state of Washington, and we think that we'll be able to handle it,” said CSD Superintendent Tracey Edou, during a Nov. 24 school board meeting.

Washington state law requires that public schools built before 2016, or had plumbing replaced before then, test all drinking water outlets at least once before June 2026, then test every five years thereafter. According to state law, if test results reveal lead levels above 5 parts per billion (ppb) at any outlet used for drinking or cooking, an action plan must be developed. 

Of the 36 outlets tested at Icicle River Middle School, nine sinks showed results above the 5 ppb requirement. Three sinks were above the 15 ppb threshold, which requires shutdown, and one sink tested at 14 ppb. All four were shut down until the levels could be remediated.

The remaining five sinks, which showed between 6 to 7 ppb, were labeled “Handwashing Only–Not for Drinking.” According to the district, safe drinking water is still available through water fountains (which were tested safe), bottle-fill stations, and bottled water.

Additionally, two drinking fountains tested positive for trace amounts of lead at the District Office/HomeLink building, and were subsequently shut off. According to CSD, the fountain on the HomeLink upper level “has not been used in many years, and HomeLink classrooms have long relied on bottled water.” The second fountain, located downstairs near the main office, tested at a low level. 

Lead contamination was not detected at Beaver Valley Elementary or the Cascade High School Career and Technical Education (CTE) Building, which were also tested. Alpine Lakes, Peshastin-Dryden and Cascade High School did not have to be tested, as they were built or modernized after 2016.

According to CSD Director of Operations Theresa Disher, the district was required to test during the school year and under conditions that would show the “highest concentrations” of lead, sampling from the first water drawn after overnight stagnation. 

“If you literally ran it for two or three seconds, it would probably be cleared out…Sitting overnight means it's going to collect. It will be at the highest possible use it can be. It's not the most accurate representation of what a daily use faucet is,” added CSD Board member Trey Ising during the meeting.

Ising suspected the elevated result most likely came from the building’s plumbing rather than city water; the city’s 2024 Consumer Confidence Report showed no detectable levels of lead.

“I will be reporting back to the board on what we find…and if we can pinpoint the exact location of the contamination,” said Disher.

Cascade School District posted its Lead Remediation Action Plan on Nov. 25, which is open for public comment until Dec. 5. According to the plan, the two District Office/HomeLink fountains will be permanently shut off. The district plans to identify any fittings or faucets on the IRMS sinks that would contribute to elevated lead levels, replacing them as needed.

If the district can’t definitively link the lead source to a faucet, it plans to install lead-removing filters. As funding allows, the district plans to expand the use of these filters to all outlets that show any detectable levels of lead. Water outlets will be retested post-remediation, as required by the state.

Out of caution, the district said it would voluntarily test water outlets in science labs when retesting, and would pay for the private test. The Department of Health doesn’t require or provide testing of science lab water outlets, since no food or drinks are permitted. It would also retest District Office and HomeLink water outlets due to inconclusive results regarding which readings correspond to specific outlets.

“All those sample dates and everything should be on [the website] so that the community, staff, students, parents, everyone knows exactly what we're doing, full transparency, step by step,” said Disher, adding that a water report will be shared annually to keep the community up to date.

Taylor Caldwell: 509-433-7276 or taylor@ward.media