MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tests show elevated levels of lead in the drinking water at Central High School and Bellevue Middle School, leading Memphis Shelby County Schools to take action.

MSCS said a test on June 27 found lead at more than twenty parts per billion in certain drinking water sources at Bellevue Middle and Central High.

Within 24 hours, the affected drinking water sources were removed from service, the district said.

“While the results identified specific water sources with elevated lead levels, it is important to note that this does not indicate widespread contamination throughout the school, and as more permanent measures are underway, we will continue to conduct subsequent retesting of those water,” MSCS said in a statement.

Bellevue Middle parents were notified in a letter sent Friday by the district. A similar letter also went out to parents at Central High. Both schools are near each other in Midtown.

“We haven’t been drinking the water since we heard about it,” said a senior at Central on Monday. “Fix the water. Nobody wants to drink lead. If they had to drink lead, I bet they wouldn’t drink it.”

In the fall of 2019, in response to a new state law, the district tested its water for lead. It found dangerous levels in 39 schools, all in water sources like fountains, sinks and coolers.

“I thought they already had this problem taken care of a couple of years ago when they had the new filters put in, but I’m not sure what’s going on, I need to find out. They need to let me know something today,” said Trevino Henderson, a Central High parent.

WREG is checking on whether tests found any other schools affected by elevated lead levels.