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Schools, childcare centers in Michigan begin process to install water filters

As Michigan’s Filter First laws approaches their one-year anniversary, Holly Gohlke, the coordinator of the School Drinking Water Program at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), recently provided an update to attendees of the Great Lakes Drinking Water conference in Novi.

Girl filling a water bottle from a filtered faucet.

Girl filling a water bottle from a filtered faucet in a school.

 

The goal of Michigan’s Filter First, Healthy Hydration laws is to reduce children’s exposure to lead in drinking water at schools and childcare centers where they spend a significant portion of their day.

EGLE has oversight of Public Act 154 which deals with K-12 public and nonpublic schools and is specifically called The Clean Drinking Water Access Act. It is a new law and is not part of the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act. Schools must have approved filters on all consumptive fixtures by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

“Although water delivered to a school or childcare center may meet the water quality standards prescribed by the Michigan Safe Drinking Water Act, the quality may be affected by the building plumbing once it is in the system,” said Golhke. “Older buildings tend to have lead pipes, lead solder, and older fixtures and fittings that contain high amounts of leaded material.”

Even though there was a lead ban in 1989, fixtures that were manufactured prior to 2014 were allowed to have up to 8% leaded material on the wetted surface. However, it is important to note that new buildings may also have a risk of lead exposure in the water because fixtures are still allowed to have up to 0.25% leaded material on the wetted surface. Even though the risk may be lower in new buildings, it still exists.

Another factor affecting the drinking water in these buildings is the irregular water use patterns. Water stagnates in the plumbing system or at individual fixtures during spring, summer, winter breaks, and even over long weekends, increasing the potential of lead leaching into the water.

“Two things are needed for lead to get into the drinking water: leaded material and stagnant water,” noted Gohlke.

In addition, there are other factors that affect the release of lead into the water such as the chemistry and temperature of the water, and a lack of protective scale or coating on the wetted surface of the plumbing.

With all these factors, protecting children from the risk of lead exposure in the drinking water at schools and childcare center is a challenge.

“The ‘find and fix’ method is simply chasing positives in a variable system and putting children at risk,” said Gohlke. “Sampling is only a snapshot in time of a very small amount of water in a large building plumbing system that likely contains leaded materials.

“Lead in the system is variable and although we can try, it is often expensive or impossible to completely remove all sources of lead from the plumbing system.

“Therefore, the new Michigan requirement to install lead reduction filters in school and childcare buildings is an added protective measure. Research has shown effective reduction of lead in the water when approved filters are properly installed, used, and maintained.”

Gohlke outlined the timeline for meeting the laws’ requirements:

  • Schools and childcare centers complete a Drinking Water Management Plan by January 24, 2025.
  • Childcare centers ensure that any water furnished to children is from a filtered source by October 24, 2025.
  • Schools have approved filters on all consumptive fixtures by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.
  • Schools and childcare centers begin ongoing sampling and certify compliance with requirements once filters are installed. Schools must sample annually, and childcare centers must sample every two years.

Thanks to $50 million in federal funding approved by the Michigan Legislature, schools and childcare centers can be reimbursed for installing filtered bottle-filling stations, tap-mounted water filters, filter pitchers, and replacement cartridges. They are invited to apply for the Filter First – Healthy Hydration Grant by Oct. 18. This initiative helps reduce childhood lead exposure by installing, maintaining, and testing certified filters at drinking water points in schools and childcare centers.

This grant is a joint effort between EGLE and the Michigan Department of Education.