The Bellevue School District has been tearing down and rebuilding their schools, spending $450 million on state-of-the-art facilities since 2005 — so how did lead end up in the new buildings’ water?

Earlier this year, the district began testing their water quality after parental concerns, an inaccurate Associated Press report and an uproar over water conditions in Flint, Michigan. Last month, it was revealed that nearly 75 water fixtures in 16 Bellevue schools were found with levels of lead requiring action.

Contrary to initial reports, the vast majority of the schools’ water was deemed safe by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. The actionable water sources have all since had their fixtures replaced and retested.

As pipes and fixtures age, it’s possible for some lead to be leached from the metal and enter the water, according to health officials. In general, lead is more likely to be found in older pipes and fixtures in older buildings, Washington State Department of Health spokesperson Steve Hulsman told the Reporter.

Other local school districts have recently found lead in their tap water. Last month, Lake Washington School District officials reported that lead had been detected in the water at Juanita High School.

Juanita, however, is one of the district’s oldest facilities and slated to be torn down and replaced in the next few years. The two additional schools that required fixture replacements — Rockwell Elementary School and Evergreen Middle School — were constructed in the ‘80s.

Testing conducted in Bellevue in 2004 found nine fixtures in older campuses that were not in compliance with EPA standards.

So, how was lead found in relatively new, multi-million dollar schools in Bellevue?

Twelve of the 16 schools with lead levels that were above the EPA and school district standards were built in 2005 or later. Some buildings are less than five years old.

Under a long-standing federal standard that was slashed in 2014, it was legal for water fixtures to contain 32 times more lead than currently allowed. There are also no federal regulations for testing the water in public schools or funding available for testing.

For nearly 20 years, the metal alloy used in the manufacturing of faucets, drinking fountains and other water fixtures could contain up to 8 percent lead. That amount was cut to 0.25 percent in a 2014 Clean Drinking Water Act update.

“I know that when we build buildings, we are always looking at the most recent standards,” Bellevue School District spokesperson Elizabeth Sytman said.

Though utilities companies are required to test their water regularly, there’s no monitoring of schools’ water quality levels or recommended frequency for testing, Hulsman said.

“Ideally, faucets and fixtures should be sampled regularly,” he said. “The EPA suggested monitoring schools and daycares and the like, but ultimately decided it wasn’t enforceable.”

Prior to this year’s testing, Bellevue had last tested a handful of schools’ water in 2008. Before that, widespread testing had been conducted in 1991, 1995 and 2004.

Water sources in new buildings are tested before the facility opens.

“Up until now, our policy has been to test when parents and staff make a request … The Facilities Department is working on developing a random testing schedule for the future. It’s hard because it’s really costly to test and there’s no funding. And unfortunately, it’s not something that we’re required to do,” Sytman said.