MASSPIRG calls on lawmakers to “Get the Lead Out” of school drinking water

Testifying before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources,  MASSPIRG and Environment Massachusetts, on behalf of a coalition of public health, environment and parent groups, called on the committee to pass An Act ensuring safe drinking water in schools, (H991 & S631) filed by state Sen. Joan B. Lovely (Salem) and State Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian (Melrose) and a bipartisan group of legislative cosponsors to get the lead out of the taps in our schools and childcare centers.

“The data are clear – lead was detected in most of the taps tested at schools and childcare centers across the state and we know children are the most impacted from exposure to lead,” said Deirdre Cummings, MASSPIRG legislative director.  “We need policies that get the lead out of faucets and fountains in our schools and child care centers.”

Lead is a potent neurotoxin that impairs how our children develop, learn, and behave. Yet, according to the lead testing data from the Department of Environmental Protection, more than 80% of the 62,557 taps tested from 1738 schools and child care centers across Massachusetts have tested positive for lead since 2016.

In 2023, MASSPIRG Education Fund and Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center released the third edition of the national Get The Lead Out report,  which gave Massachusetts a C- grade for its lack of a statewide requirement to prevent lead contamination of schools’ drinking water.

An Act ensuring safe drinking water in schools requires schools and childcare centers to install water filling stations – or filters on faucets used for drinking or cooking – certified to remove lead when at least one tap in the school has been found to contain lead. The bill is supported by many organizations including MASSPIRG, Environment Massachusetts, Clean Water Action, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Massachusetts PTA, Community Action Works, Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts.

“The good news is that we know how to get the lead out of drinking water – we just need the leadership and commitment to do so,” concluded Cummings. “ Passing this bill will ensure our kids, their teachers, and the school and childcare community will be protected from lead poisoning.”