The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced $58 million in grant funding, including $184,000 for Hawaii, to help schools and child care facilities remove lead from drinking water.
The grants, part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda were announced last week during
an event in Boston.
“Reducing lead in drinking water is a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration and the EPA,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman in a news release. “We are taking a holistic approach to tackling this critical public health issue in Hawaii. By harmonizing regulations with historic infrastructure investments under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, while also providing technical assistance to disadvantaged communities, EPA is taking bold action to protect all our children from lead in drinking water.”
The EPA said activities that remove sources of lead in drinking water are now
eligible for funding through the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act.
Under new guidelines, the grants can be used to voluntarily test for and identify potential sources
of lead contamination
as well as for eligible
remediation projects.
Some examples of projects include the removal, installation and replacement of internal plumbing, lead pipes or lead connectors, faucets, water fountains,
water filler stations, point-
of-use devices and other lead-free apparatus related to drinking water.
Recent testing by the state Department of Health found roughly three-quarters of
Hawaii’s public elementary schools have tested positive for high lead levels in at least one sink or drinking water fountain.
Facilities built before 1988 pose a greater risk, as they are more likely to contain lead-bearing materials in their plumbing.
The funds are allocated to different states based on a formula that factors in population, disadvantaged communities and lead exposure risk.
The EPA and Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention agree there is no known safe level of lead in a child’s blood. Lead exposure can lead to harmful health effects for children, including damage to the brain and nervous system and slowed growth and
development.
The Biden-Harris administration aims to replace all lead pipes in the U.S. in the next decade. The EPA is also developing newly proposed requirements that would result in the replacement of all lead service lines in the U.S. as quickly as feasible.
