Lead in drinking water of 6 Utrecht primary schools

High concentrations of lead was found in the tap water of six primary schools in Utrecht, the municipality said. The heavy metal in drinking water is harmful to health, especially for young children, NOS reports.

Last month Utrecht and Rotterdam announced major operations to locate and replace lead pipes in schools and daycare centers located in municipal buildings. Amsterdam has been working on doing so for some time.

On Thursday night, Utrecht announced the results of the first 25 schools examined. The schools where lead was found in the drinking water are located in four different neighborhoods. In one of the six schools, the municipality is certain that there are lead pipes in the building. For the other buildings, the municipality is still investigating whether the lead pipes are in the schools or around them. 

At the schools involved, pupils are given bottled water and are no longer allowed to drink from the tap.