Francis Marion School has three new filtered water bottle filling stations in its halls, and every round of lab testing since they went in has found no detectable lead in the water they deliver, Communities Unlimited said in a release Oct. 7.
Perry County Schools staff, students and Communities Unlimited held a ribbon cutting at the school Oct. 2.
Francis Marion was enrolled in fall 2025 in a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lead-reduction grant program created under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, the release said. Communities Unlimited, which works on rural water and wastewater systems, applied for the funding with a letter of support from Superintendent Dr. Marcia Smiley.
The school was eligible because it has an older building, every student qualifies for free lunch and Perry County is a persistent poverty county, the release said.
A small amount of lead had been detected in the school’s water before, and clearing up concerns about it had been a long-standing goal for the district, the release said.
“It’s tremendous help for the community itself because now the parents are confident in letting their child or scholar drink the water here at the school,” Principal Demetrice Jackson said.
In November 2025, Alexis Nank, a community infrastructure management consultant with Communities Unlimited, walked the building and documented every drinking fountain. Her 37-page assessment found two fountains that had tested above the minimum detectable level for lead and others that no longer worked, the release said.
The district used the findings to decide which fountains to replace, weighed a quote from a local plumber and ordered the stations. Nank and two maintenance staff members installed two of them in one day in the spring and returned several weeks later to put in the third, the release said.
The grant program requires months of water sampling after installation. Nank said she walked the halls about 5 a.m. several times to collect samples before anyone arrived.
Eleventh-grader Mackenzie Tubbs said she gets thirsty, especially during cheer practice, and does not always bring her own water bottle. “I feel like the station has been good. It tastes like purified water,” she said.
Classmate Mia Bensley, who brings a bottle every day, said filling it is easier now.
The stations have also cut the school’s reliance on purchased and donated cases of bottled water, the release said. Communities Unlimited gave the school reusable bottles with the school’s logo and colors, enough for the year’s enrollment.
Each station has a sensor-activated spout and a light that signals when its filter needs changing. Building maintenance staff watch for that signal and contact the district’s central office maintenance team when a filter needs to be replaced.
The school also has a binder from Communities Unlimited with cleaning procedures, flushing schedules, replacement parts and filter replacement schedules for every fountain in the building.
Nank led a session on lead reduction for Perry County faculty at their back-to-school professional development day in August.
Francis Marion Principal Demetrice Jackson cuts the ribbon, held by Alexis Nank, left, and Justin Broderway of Communities Unlimited, at one of the school’s three new filtered water stations Oct. 2.
A bottle is filled at one of Francis Marion School’s new filtered water stations.
Students Mackenzie Tubbs and Mia Bensley, Alexis Nank and Justin Broderway of Communities Unlimited, and Principal Demetrice Jackson, left to right, at the Oct. 2 ribbon cutting.
