LANGLEY — The South Whidbey School District wants its contractors to get the lead out in getting the lead out.

The three schools along Maxwelton Road have been making do with bottled water since 2004, when unacceptable traces of lead were discovered in the schools’ water system, along with iron and manganese that were coloring the water.

A long and complex water-treatment project was to have been completed by Aug. 14, before the start of the current school year.

But delays between the contractor, C.D. Construction & Management Inc., of Renton, and its subcontractors have kept the bottled water flowing at a total cost for the past three years of nearly $120,000.

“We are expecting it to be completed soon,” District Superintendent Fred McCarthy said Monday of the project. “We would like it to be done yesterday.”

McCarthy said the district’s attorneys, Helsell Fetterman of Seattle, have sent a letter to the contractors urging expediency. The lawyers have also pointed to the provisions of the district’s contract for the project.

One is that the contractor is liable for $200 for each day the project is delayed between Aug. 15 and Sept. 4, and $250 a day after that.

“Everyone in the organization shares an enthusiasm for completing this project,” McCarthy said.

It all started four years ago, when a study commissioned by the district turned up levels of lead. Drinking fountains were disconnected, and bottled water was introduced.

The district decided on a water-treatment project because the cost of digging a new well would have been borne by the taxpayers, and there was no guarantee the water would be any purer than that from the existing well.

After a mountain of paperwork, the district acquired a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant, and an engineering study was completed.

The project was expected to cost $592,000, including a district contribution of $150,000.

Because of rising prices, the project is expected to run about $100,000 over budget, McCarthy said. Money for the overrun was included in a capital-projects levy that was approved by voters last February.

The new treatment plant consists of a concrete-block building measuring 35 by 25 feet. Water treatment modules, including an ozone generator, are inside.

When ozone is injected into the water, it’s expected to eliminate the naturally-occurring iron and manganese, which will settle in an underground tank.

And once the acidic nature of the water is reduced, most or all of the lead leaching into the water at the intermediate, primary and high schools along Maxwelton Road is expected to be eliminated, officials say.

As a bonus, elimination of the metals means the district can use less chlorine in the water, leaving it flavorful and pure, McCarthy said.

“Most water in Langley is pretty good-tasting,” he said.

Meanwhile, Joe Anastasi, the district’s maintenance supervisor, told the school board last week that the inactive drinking fountains and connecting pipes are being cleaned and repaired, and some of the older fixtures replaced.

Once the new system is operational, it will be thoroughly tested and inspected by the USDA and the health department, officials said.

McCarthy said students and teachers are getting tired of being inconvenienced by the bottled water. Students are required to fill individual water bottles from the 50 water stations in the three schools.

“They certainly would like to get back to water from water fountains,” McCarthy said. “We’re all anxious to have this brought to completion.”