Water quality meets state standards
We have verified that water inside University of Colorado Hospital buildings and most University of Colorado Denver buildings at the Anschutz Medical Campus meet Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) water quality standards.
The recent testing, completed by the CDPHE, was done after previous samples last fall found elevated levels of lead in the water at some buildings at the Fitzsimons site. CDPHE suggested a change to the procedure to reflect the Environmental Protection Agency’s criteria for sample collection and location in the EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule. The Rule states that the test locations must be sinks in kitchens and break rooms where people drink the water.
The new cooperative testing protocol – adopted by the UCD, the University of Colorado Hospital, the City of Aurora, the Fitzsimons Redevelopment Authority and The Children’s Hospital - collected samples from 48 buildings. In all, the joint effort took more than 70 samples on three separate occasions in November and December. The CDPHE then tested the samples.
Even before the new protocol was begun, we took immediate precautions to protect patients, visitors and employees by stocking our buildings with bottled water. We also offered toxicology tests to UCD employees who worked in the suspect buildings. All toxicology exams were negative for lead for both university and hospital employees.
Then we, at UCD, along with UCH, the City of Aurora and the CDPHE began a more rigorous, multi-month battery of tests to see if the earlier results could be verified. If they could, the new tests also would help define the scope of any problem, its source and its solution.
Those results show water quality on the campus does meet state standards.
UCD and UCH buildings on campus will be switching back to regular water sources during the next 24 hours. Several older UCD buildings – including Bldg 500 and the 400 series of buildings – still show slightly elevated levels of lead in the water at certain places, and the reasons have been identified. UCD will continue to supply bottled water in those locations while it completes the appropriate remediation work. The remediation work consists of pipe replacement. This is expected to be designed and installed within the next six to nine months in the affected buildings.
We realize that this has been a frustrating and worrisome experience and we sincerely regret any inconvenience. Your welfare and safety have always been our top priority. We appreciate your patience during this lengthy, yet important, process.
