Water testing at the University of Utah has found lead and copper contamination in several campus buildings since 2020, with one building exceeding federal limits this fall. The results come as the university manages a water infrastructure that includes service lines dating to 1874.
This fall, water samples from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Center on upper campus and the Price Theatre Arts Building revealed water contamination from lead and copper pollutants. “Maintaining and modernizing a water system serving a 150-year-old campus requires long-term planning and sustained investment,” a statement from the U said.
Water testing
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has Maximum Contaminant Level Goals (MCLG) for each contaminant. It also outlines “action level exceedances,” which require changes in the plumbing to lower contaminant levels. The levels for lead are 0.010 mg/L and 1.3 mg/L for copper.
Civil Engineer Steffanie Brown works at Facilities and is one of four water operators on campus. Brown collects water data and analyzes its trends. Based on these trends, she makes recommendations to building management on what to replace to improve contaminant levels…