Welcome to the Reader‘s morning briefing for Thursday, October 20, 2016.
Hundreds of park water fountains test positive for high lead levels
Hundreds of drinking fountains in city parks have high levels of lead, according to a recent wave of testing. The Chicago Park District conducted 2,435 tests at 479 parks, more than 200 of which had water sources with lead levels above Environmental Protection Agency standards. “In response to the testing, 14 of 544 indoor drinking water sources (fountains and sinks) and 445 of 1,891 outdoor fountains were disabled, as they were found to have levels higher than the EPA drinking water standard of 15 ppb,” district officials said in a statement. “These fountains will undergo further testing, and will be removed, repaired or replaced, as necessary.” [WBEZ]
