Get the Lead Out toolkit for Colorado parents

Parents in Colorado concerned about lead in the drinking water at your child’s school should work with school leadership and school boards to get the lead out. Here are three steps to take.

Step 1 – Get the facts. Check lead testing data for your school by using the state’s Test and Fix Water for Kids website. This will show you how many fixtures came back positive for lead, and what remediation actions your school has done so far. 

• We recommend you sort by “District” and then use the “Facility Name” to find your school. 
• You can see when test samples were taken, a description of the water fixture sampled and what the test results were (labeled “Lead Results ppb”). We recommend any fixture that has a 1 or more should be remediated. 
• Based on the state standard of 5 ppb, if the test came back at 5 ppb or more the “Action Required” should say YES (likely will be highlighted) and the “Remedial Action” will be listed.  If the action has been taken, there will be a date under “Action Date.” If action is not completed you will see “Underway” or “Further Fixes Underway” under “Remedial Action.”

Step 2 – Confirm remediation timeline. If your child’s school has fixtures that require remediation, but have not been remediated yet, ask your principal or other school leadership what the timeline is for completion and confirmation testing.

Step 3 – Request prevention at every tap. Regardless of the number of taps that exceed the state cut-off of 5 ppb, we recommend filtration at all fixtures. This can actually be a cost effective approach compared to continuous testing and remediation. Reach out to school leadership or school board members (sample message below) to request action above and beyond the current system of testing and replacing. At the very least, all fixtures testing at or above 1 ppb of lead should be remediated, which is the threshold recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

SAMPLE EMAIL – FEEL FREE TO COPY THIS AND USE

Dear School Board Member / Principal, 

As a parent concerned about the health of all the children in our school, I’d like to suggest that [school name] consider preventing lead in water at every tap by installing lead-removing filters on all drinking water sources. Because 5 ppb is significantly more lead in water than the 1 ppb recommended for children by the American Academy of Pediatrics, I am concerned about the lead that can remain in water even under the state’s current testing and remediation program. Additionally, because lead concentrations in water are highly variable, even proper sampling can miss lead contamination or fail to capture its full extent. 

Providing filters at drinking water sources can be a cost effective way to ensure the water our kids drink at school is safe. I believe prevention at every tap by using certified lead-removing filters will provide the healthy, safe learning environment every child and staff person at our school deserve. 

Thank you,

[Your name]