Groups issue new toolkit on lead in school’s drinking water

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New resource for parents highlights funding in the infrastructure bill

Environment America Research and Policy Center

BOSTON – With the bipartisan infrastructure bill now signed into law, Environment America Research & Policy Center (Environment America’s research partner) and U.S. PIRG Education Fund (PIRG’s research partner) released a new toolkit for parents and community leaders on Tuesday on how to get the lead out of schools’ drinking water. The infrastructure bill includes $200 million for schools to conduct lead reduction efforts.

“Parents know their kids need safe drinking water at school, where they go to learn and play each day,” said Environment America’s Clean Water Program Director John Rumpler. “But what they might not realize is that new funding is available to school districts to stop lead from contaminating water at school.”

Lead is a major threat to childrens’ health, and it is contaminating drinking water at schools across the country. Schools can start getting the lead out of their water by replacing fountains with water bottle stations that have filters certified to remove lead. Installing these filtered hydration stations would only cost a fraction of the nearly $110 billion in federal stimulus that school districts are receiving. 

In addition to highlighting these new federal funding sources, the toolkit includes facts and resources about lead contamination, a short educational video, and sample call-to-action materials. 

“Ensuring safe drinking water at school is not always an easy homework assignment,” said Emily Rogers, PIRG’s Zero Out Toxics advocate. “Our toolkit will help parents work with their school officials to get the lead out.”

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