Nearly twenty years ago, Baltimore City schools shut off the majority of its drinking fountains to eliminate the risk of lead poisoning — instead opting to use five-gallon water jugs. That switch has caused a lot of relief, but it also comes with a new set of issues.

Baltimore Teachers Union Treasurer Zach Taylor says it’s “not as uncommon as it should be” for schools to run out of water, due to delayed deliveries or increased use.

“We've had teachers go to grocery stores or Costco before the day even begins and bring water themselves to provide drinking water for their students,” Taylor said. “It's created a big hurdle.”

The number of children with hazardous lead levels has decreased both statewide and in Baltimore City over the past decade. In 2023, 363 children in Baltimore City tested positive for elevated lead levels in their blood, beyond the acceptable health limit. That represents 28% of total new state cases.

Since 2018, all Maryland schools have been required to test their drinking water ways for lead contamination every three years. In the most recent report, Baltimore City only tested 14% of its schools. One in ten drinking water samples contained elevated lead levels.

Baltimore County schools, by comparison, tested 89% of its schools — and saw the second highest contamination rate in the state, with 30% of drinking fountain samples showing lead levels above the safety threshold. That’s more than double the state average.

In a May press conference, Superintendent Myriam Rogers says that’s because the county has the third oldest school buildings in the state.

“This is one of the reasons why we're so aggressive in terms of trying to address our infrastructure and our capital projects,” she said. “I am proud to say that our team…remains very diligent in terms of the testing, sharing with the public the results, and making sure that we're providing bottled water for the schools that the current water is not safe for students.”

Scott Washington, executive director of school facilities, said Baltimore City has the oldest schools in Maryland. That’s part of the reason why the district made the switch to delivered jugs in 2007, he said. Now, 133 Baltimore schools use that model.

“When you look at the aging infrastructure and things like that, this is probably one of the most cost effective measures we could take, especially with budgetary constraints,” Washington said. “It’s more of a city-wide concern because of the aging infrastructure of our city.”

But Taylor said the distribution and logistics of water delivery sometimes creates gaps in water access for students and staff.

“Some schools really manage it well, but some schools do not,” he said. “While water jugs are certainly better than having leaded water, it's just a headache. It's something that you have to supervise. The principals are already incredibly busy.”

Taylor said the teachers’ union has pushed for district leaders to develop a public-facing logistics plan to iron out the water delivery details. But those requests have so far been refused.

Roland Dale, city schools’ director of logistics and environmental health, said there already is a plan in place. His team monitors delivery schedules and amounts, which are based on school size and usage, he said.

The district also keeps a stockpile of 500 water jugs on hand for emergencies at all times, Dale added.

“We get water out within two hours of any time where we have an acknowledged understanding that water is needed,” he said.

Schools have to submit a work order if water supply is low, Dale said, which could cause problems if there is no designated point-person at the school level.

“So it's not that we have not come up with a logistical plan,” he said. “It is that most of this stuff is done behind the scenes, and folks are only impacted unfortunately when a circumstance comes up.”

Charter schools make their own water plans, with mixed success

The district foots the annual $90,000 water bill and manages contracts with outside vendors. But charter schools have to chart their own course, unless their building is owned by Baltimore City Public Schools.

One former Coppin Academy teacher, who asked to be anonymous for job safety in the district, said her charter school ran out of water for weeks in December 2022.

“At one point, the students told me that they hadn't had water in the building, this would have been in January 2023,” she told WYPR. “The students said, ‘Oh, we haven't had water in the building since before Christmas.’”

The teacher said Coppin Academy had two water jugs at the time.

“Those office water coolers are just not meant to withstand the wear and tear of 400 students, who are, you know, they're kids, they're rough,” she said. “And so they do pretty regularly get broken and have to be replaced.”

Baltimore Teachers Union staff helped that teacher make a complaint to Maryland’s Occupational Safety and Health department, she said, which eventually compelled Coppin Academy to take action. The school is now under new leadership.

“As teachers, we can bring water from home; we can go out on our lunch break and fill up a water bottle; we have options,” she said. “So it was just really about, like teachers were very concerned about kids.”

Jayson Green runs New Song Academy, a charter school based in Sandtown Winchester. He said last year, the city district started allowing charters to use their water vendor and rate.

“We still have to pay for it, but at least we get to use their rate,” Green said. “Because if we do it on our own, it'd be a lot more expensive. But having the ability to utilize the mass purchase power that the district has is much more beneficial for us.”

Green also chairs the district’s Parent and Community Advisory Board. He said most families like the jugged water system because they can trust it to be lead-free.

“It's not as much of a solution as this is the best option we have right now,” Green said.

Will Baltimore schools open water fountains again?

Taylor, the city teachers’ union treasurer, said he wants to see district leaders make a plan for getting safe water fountains back into all city schools. But he knows that comes with a cost.

“We don't really have the funds to address all the pressing capital needs that we have,” Taylor said. “And a lot of that is due to a historical inequity in what city schools has received.”

Baltimore’s 21st Century School Buildings program is trying to correct those historic wrongs by completely updating nearly 30 schools in the span of 10 years. State and city governments contribute $20 million each to the program each year, with the district pitching in the same.

Dale, city schools’ logistics director, says those buildings are constructed with entirely lead-free infrastructure, from pipes to filtration. He said getting safe water fountains into every city school would require those updates across the board.

“It would be an astronomical cost,” Dale said. “That would require all schools to be completely redone.”

For reference, Facilities Director Washington said, the upgraded Furley Elementary School revealed in June cost over $43 million.

“And that’s an elementary school. A high school is two to three times that size,” Washington said. “So that is not something that's months away, years away, but so we can deal with an immediate future right now. And we've been successful at that for quite some time.”

Washington said achieving that goal would require more state and federal funding support.

“We're not the only city in a situation like this, because the east coast has the oldest infrastructure,” he said. “So that being the case, those are things where you need local support, state support, federal support, but more importantly, a coordinated plan on all levels.”