President Biden has released his bold infrastructure package, which basically declares war on lead in drinking water, both in our homes and our schools, at a cost of $45 billion. Biden Administration’s announcement to fund the removal and replacement of lead service lines—the pipes that run from the water main in the street into our homes.
Lead gets into the drinking water in our schools and childcare centers not from the water coming into those buildings, but from the water coursing through the buildings. Plumbing pipes and fixtures contain lead, and that lead flakes off or leaches into the drinking water. Unfortunately, federal law allows the plumbing pipes and fixtures to contain lead.
Children are the most susceptible to the irreversible adverse effects from lead, which include the failure to concentrate, reduced cognitive ability, and aggressive behavior. We want schools and childcare centers to be healthy places for children to learn and thrive.
The President’s proposal recognized that not just our homes need to take care of the lead problem in drinking water—we also need to address the problem in schools: “In addition to reducing lead exposure in homes, this investment also will reduce lead exposure in 400,000 schools and childcare facilities.” If we fix the problem with lead lines in our homes, it’s counterproductive to send our kids to schools and childcare centers that still have a problem with lead in the drinking water.
We know what the problem is. We know what the solution is. It costs money, of course, to fix it, but that’s money well spent.
