New Lead and Copper Rule Improvements don’t solve lead contamination in schools

On Monday, October 8th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized a new rule on lead in drinking water – called the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. While EPA’s new rule includes a landmark 10-year deadline for removing lead pipes, it does little to stop the widespread lead contamination of drinking water at schools.

Even low levels of lead are harmful to kids’ health. So it’s crucial that we get the lead out wherever our children go to learn and play each day.

That’s why we are calling on local school districts across North Carolina to install lead-filtration water stations and filters on other taps which will prevent lead contamination at schools. Every family in North Carolina should have access to the safe water they deserve.

Lead in Schools’ Drinking Water is a Major Problem in North Carolina

Lead was detected in 53 percent of nearly 21,101 water samples taken at North Carolina schools, according to the state’s Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids program as of September 24, 2024. The percentage of lead-tainted water samples is even higher for child care centers tested so far.  

The EPA’s deadline on lead service lines does not solve this problem. Most schools do not have lead service lines; rather, lead contamination of schools’ water largely stems from interior plumbing, fountains and fixtures. 

There is no reason to believe that North Carolina schools’ plumbing or fixtures contain less lead than elsewhere or that our water is somehow less vulnerable to contamination. Rather than wait for more test results to confirm that North Carolina children are drinking lead-tainted water, we should act now.

The Health Imperative 

There is no safe level of lead, and the EPA has indicated that “in children, low levels of [lead] exposure have been linked to damage to the central and peripheral nervous system, learning disabilities, shorter stature, impaired hearing and impaired formation and function of blood cells.”

With 24 million children in America estimated to be at risk of losing IQ points due to low levels of lead exposure, there is no time to waste to ensure that children across North Carolina aren’t harmed by lead-laced water in the faucets and foundations they drink from each and every day.

We can get the lead out at school

The good news is that we know how to solve this problem. Instead of more testing, schools and child-care centers need to take matters into their own hands and install lead-filtering water stations and filters on all other drinking water taps. Funding is available for schools from the bipartisan infrastructure law. However, schools need not wait on approval of funding to help kids stay safe today, especially when installing these filtration systems is fairly low cost in comparison to other capital improvements schools face.

Given the high variability in lead sampling, installing lead-filtration water stations and filters on other taps is far better for kids’ health than only remediating taps where tests confirm the presence of lead. Why not have this level of protection for all of North Carolina’s kids?

Lead Service Lines in North Carolina

We also want to recognize the importance of EPA’s 10-year deadline on replacing lead pipes. A new map released by the Natural Resources Defense Council that analyzes Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data on reported lead pipes and service lines, exposing the seriousness and breadth of the lead in drinking water crisis across all 50 states in the U.S. 

Data shows that families face harm from a projected 311,173 total lead service lines in the state. These numbers are possibly under-estimates, as water utilities serving 123 million people across the nation have failed to identify their lead pipes, reporting their water lines are made from an “unknown” material, which could be lead. 

However, as noted above, most schools do not have lead service lines. Contamination of schools’ water stems from plumbing, fountains and other fixtures with sufficient lead to leach into water.