School board approves lead pipe remediation project for East Middle
The Great Falls Public Schools board approved a $790,500 to Action Plumbing and Construction for an East Middle School lead pipe remediation project.
The cost will be reimbursed through the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, and, if necessary, GFPS funds.
The district has been testing sinks and fountains for lead under a 2020 rule from the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services that requires schools to check at least every three years for lead in the water of any sink or fountain used for drinking or food prep.
Schools’ initial deadline to get that done was Dec. 31, 2021.
Those results are posted on the GFPS website as are the 2024 testing results.
Under the rule, any faucet whose water has a lead concentration of five parts per billion or higher must be fixed or routinely flushed. Fixtures that test higher than 15 ppb must immediately be shut off.
The 2023 Montana Legislature appropriated funds for schools to use for lead remediation in school facilities.
GFPS working to replace, fix faucets, sinks where lead detected under new state rule [2022]
The funds were appropriated again during the 2025 Legislature and the deadline to use the funds was extended to June 30, 2027.
Since the state appropriated funds, GFPS has used the funds to replace specific fixtures that had tested positive for lead and to install filtration systems where appropriate, whenever the water tested has lead levels above the state’s minimum acceptable levels.
Brent Cutler, GFPS facilities director, told The Electric that the testing for 2021 and 2024 was paid for by the state and the lead reduction filters and drinking fountain replacements were reimbursed through the state’s grant program.
The district had ongoing issues with lead issues at East Middle, due to the layout of the system and old pipes, but officials said the water was safe for students and staff.
The district has worked with TD&H Engineering on the design and bidding process.
The district received three bids on Dec. 25 and the lowest qualified bidder was Action Plumbing and Construction with a $790,500 base bid.
The district is working to complete the project by Oct. 1 to comply with timelines for DEQ funding.
After the initial testing in 2021, some fountains in district buildings tested above the thresholds set by the rule and were immediately taken out of service, Brian Patrick, former GFPS business operations manager, told The Electric at the time and the district changed out fountains, put filters on them or took them out of service completely.
