Lead-Tainted Water In Schools: Connecticut Gets Failing Grade

CONNECTICUT — More than half of U.S. states are doing a terrible job keeping dangerous levels of lead out of school drinking supplies, according to a new report. Connecticut received a letter grade of “F” in the “Get the Lead Out” report from public policy researchers, who said most U.S. schools have at least some lead in their water pipes, plumbing and fixtures.

The authors of the report note that, "Given that pre-2014 fixtures contain significant amounts of lead, water contamination in Connecticut schools is as likely as elsewhere."

In a 2016 story, NBC Connecticut reported that "since 2011, 20 Connecticut schools were found to have lead-contaminated water. The number could be higher, but some parents might never know because only the 170 out of 1,100 Connecticut schools that use independent water systems are required by the state to check." A Connecticut Mirror story elaborates that most Connecticut schools are not required to test their schools water.

While Superintendent of Stamford Public Schools Earl Kim said he could not comment specifically on the report, he emphasized that the well-being of students and staff is one of the district's biggest priorities.

"While I cannot speak to the specifics of the report itself, what I can tell you is that in Stamford the well-being of our students and staff is a top priority," Kim said in an emailed statement to Patch. "Our school buildings are owned by the City of Stamford and it is my understanding that for the past nine years, the City’s Department of Health along with the Health Labs has been conducting regular tests of the drinking water in our school buildings to ensure it meets all safety requirements."

Patch editors in Connecticut this week reached out to several other area superintendents but did not receive a response.

The 22 states that received “F” grades include Michigan, where the long-running Flint water crisis brought national awareness to problems children experience when they’re exposed to lead. Residents of that city of about 100,000 began complaining of discolored and particle-filled water in 2014, but it was more than two years later that the city began replacing its water lines. That project should be completed this year.

A red-flag word for pediatricians, exposure to lead can cause a lifetime of problems for young children, from lower IQs to antisocial and violent behavior.

“The health threat of lead in schools’ water deserves immediate attention from state and local policymakers for two reasons,” the Environment America Research & Policy Center and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund wrote in the report.

“First, lead is highly toxic and especially damaging to children — impairing how they learn, grow, and behave,” the “Get the Lead Out” report said. “So, we ought to be particularly vigilant against this health threat at schools and pre-schools, where our children spend their days learning and playing.”

The report said that “in all likelihood, the confirmed cases of lead in schools’ water are just the tip of the iceberg.”

Several states don’t require schools and preschools to address the threat of lead in drinking water, according to the report, and most of the handful of states that do “follow flaws in the federal rules — relying on testing instead of prevention and using standards that allow health-threatening levels of lead to persist in our children’s water at school.”

Only the District of Columbia and the state of Illinois were ranked above average, with letter grades of “B+” and “B,” respectively. California, New York, Oregon, Maryland, New Hampshire and New Jersey got “C+” or “C” grades, and Arizona and Massachusetts both scored a “D.”

Besides Michigan and Connecticut, states that got an “F” were Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

To make schools safer for students, the two policy groups recommend the replacement of drinking water systems that contain lead, including service lines, faucets and fixtures. That takes time, and in the interim, schools should install certified filtration systems to remove lead at every tap used for drinking and cooking. Schools also should regularly test all water outlets and make those reports public, the report said.

“The promise and viability of this ‘get the lead out’ approach can be seen in municipal and voluntary programs across the nation,” the report said, noting efforts in Madison, Wisconsin, and Lansing, Michigan, that have removed all lead service lines from homes. New York City has replaced them in all schools, and Washington, D.C., now requires schools to install certified filters at all outlets used for drinking and cooking at schools.

Patch staffer RJ Scofield contributed to this report.