The Thompson School District along with Dr. Pinar Omur-Ozbek and her students performed a drinking water testing program which was the only project recognized in the EPA’s six-state Region 8 in response to the EPA announcement of its proposed updates to lead and copper rules to better protect children and at-risk communities.

Currently there is no requirement for public schools to test drinking water for lead. Thompson School District (TSD) applied for grants from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to test for lead at 34 schools, and the City of Loveland analyzed around 3,000 samples.  EPA Region 8 Administrator Greg Sopkin said Omur-Ozbek and her students “took a lot of pride in their work and a lot of care” in collecting water samples during the two-year project.  Read More