COVENTRY, RI — The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) has required Western Coventry Elementary School to issue a do not drink notice on its water system, because of manganese in samples tested.
Coventry school officials issued the notice on Monday.
“Western Coventry Elementary School public water system recently submitted manganese results to RIDOH that are over EPA’s health advisory,” Superintendent Don Cowart said. “Manganese is unregulated in drinking water, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently evaluating whether to regulate it. RIDOH is requiring that Western Coventry Elementary School public water system issue a Tier 1 Do Not Drink Notice. Coventry has posted and distributed the required notice as outlined in the instructions.”
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The results of manganese collected from a drinking water sample on Oct. 31 from Western Coventry Elementary School’s distribution system was 2.23 mg/L, state health officials said. A sample collected after treatment on Monday was 6.32 mg/L. These levels exceed the EPA’s health advisory.
According to the health advisory, levels should not exceed 0.3 mg/L for bottle-fed infants. The 10-day value acceptable for adults and children older than six months is 1 mg/L.
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Cowart said the school district took the following response and mitigation actions:
Manganese is a naturally occurring element found in rocks, soil, water, and air. It is commonly found in the food such as nuts, legumes, seeds, grains, and green leafy vegetables. It is also found in drinking water.
Manganese is an essential nutrient. Consuming drinking water with manganese above the advisory is not necessarily harmful to a majority of the population, state health officials said. An individual’s nutritional requirements for manganese and potential for harmful health effects may be highly variable.
Bottle-fed infants who drink water containing more than 0.3 mg/L of manganese over a period of 10 days may have negative neurological effects. The elderly and those with liver disease should also avoid water with too much manganese, RIDOH officials said.
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