The Michigan Senate and House are considering bills to protect kids from lead in drinking water.  The Filter First bills call for schools to provide filtered drinking water stations, and to test water from the filtered drinking stations annually to ensure the filters are working properly.  Filtered drinking water stations, often called hydration stations, are drinking water fountains with bottle fillers and filters that are certified for lead removal.

Drinking water filter stations can provide a reliable source of safe, sustainable drinking water in schools and child care facilities. Filter stations with filter cartridges certified to NSF/ANSI standard 53 for lead reduction are an effective way to ensure lead that is lurking in building plumbing is removed before children take a drink. Hands-free bottle filling stations reduce the number of little hands touching water dispensers, and they reduce the spread of germs.

As a drinking water professional and mother of two children who are growing up in Michigan public schools, I strongly support Senate Bills 184 and 185 to provide filtered drinking water stations in schools and child care facilities.

There are many questions to ask about re-opening schools for students after the pandemic shutdown. How to restore water quality should be one of them. The most important step regarding water quality as schools re-open is to communicate clearly with staff, parents, and students about water quality in the building.

We don’t have any national requirements for providing safe drinking water in our schools and child cares. Here is a strategy to change that.

We know there is lead in school plumbing. We also know that schools have irregular water use patterns. When fresh water does not run through the pipes, corrosion control doesn't get a chance to work when it is used in water treatment. That means that when there is lead in the plumbing in schools, there is usually lead in the water.