E. coli found in Davis Elementary School's water supply in San Joaquin County
MORADA – Just one day after students returned to school at Davis Elementary in San Joaquin County, the principal shared a message with parents notifying them that E. coli was detected in the school's water supply.
Students returned to campus on Tuesday. The following day, Davis Elementary School Principal Magenda Cruz shared a message that laboratory testing of the site's water supply determined E. coli was present.
"Nobody is panicking, nobody is freaking out, just remembering to tell the kids, not to touch this and not to drink that," said Trina Morgan, a grandparent at Davis Elementary School.
Morgan came to pick up her granddaughter Winry and trusts Lodi School District to be on top of the water which can pose a threat if students drink it.
Hundreds of water bottles are being provided to students and staff in the meantime.
Cruz said the water fountains and sinks were closed on Tuesday and will remain closed until further notice.
The district is providing the school with bottled water for students, staff and all food handling purposes. The school also received hand sanitizer and hand washing stations.
"Safeguarding our staff and students' health and safety remains our foremost priority as we work to address this issue," Cruz said.
"My understanding is they will be tested again Monday following treatment over the weekend," said Mark Dawson, a director for the Lodi Unified School District.
Dawson says the district was notified last week of something wrong with the water and Wednesday's results confirmed it.
But Marisela Ortiz wished the district notified parents the moment they knew something was wrong.
"Now that they're here, we never know what could happen. They touch everything, they're wondering everything around, so they should've let us know ahead of time," Ortiz said.
There are five Lodi Unified schools on the well water. The district says they are tested weekly and it is a separate well from the surrounding neighborhood.
