State program protects kids from lead in school drinking water
Program has helped 66 school districts replace 569 lead tainted water fountains, August 2023
Massachusetts program issuing grants to schools and childcare centers to kids from lead in drinking water.
Lead is a potent neurotoxin that impairs how our children develop, learn, and behave. Yet, according to testing data from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), more than 80% of the 62,557 taps tested at schools and child care centers throughout Massachusetts tested positive for lead.
In January 2020, Massachusetts launched the School Water Improvement Grants (SWIG) program to protect children from exposure to lead in drinking water at schools and child care centers. The SWIG program, funded by the Massachusetts Clean Water Trust, is run by State Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). While a statewide health based lead level standard for schools and childcare centers is needed to protect all children from lead in drinking water, the SWIG program offers an important tool in protecting children from lead in drinking water. Today, the program is available to public school districts, private schools and public and private early education facilities, and non-residential daycare facilities that have completed voluntary lead testing and reported their testing results to MassDEP’s Lead Contamination Control Act (LCCA) program. Facilities can apply for grants to replace drinking water fountains, (bubblers) that have tested positive for lead.
Since SWIG was launched in January 2020, they have granted $1,707,000 to pay for the purchase and installation of 569 filtered water filling stations in 66 school districts and child care centers. For more information about the program and how to apply see (https://www.mass.gov/school-water-improvement-grants).
| Districts | Fixtures | Grant Amount | Date Voted |
| Amherst Pelham Regional School | 10 | $30,000 | 6/1/2022 |
| Amherst Public Schools | 8 | $24,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Amherst-Pelham Regional School District | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Arlington Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 06/03/2020 |
| Blackstone-Millville Regional School District | 11 | $33,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Braintree Public Schools | 9 | $27,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Canton Public Schools | 11 | $33,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Christ Church Parish Day School | 1 | $3,000 | 6/1/2022 |
| Douglas Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Easton Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 11/2/2022 |
| Easton Public Schools | 1 | $3,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Fitchburg Public Schools | 19 | $57,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Four Rivers Charter Public School | 3 | $9,000 | 12/14/2022 |
| Gardner Public Schools | 13 | $39,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Giving Tree School | 1 | $3,000 | 5/4/2022 |
| Greenfield Public Schools | 5 | $15,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Groton Dunstable Regional School District | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Hadley Public Schools | 1 | $3,000 | 07/08/2020 |
| Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District | 2 | $6,000 | 3/6/2023 |
| Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District | 4 | $12,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Harbor City School | 1 | $3,000 | 5/4/2022 |
| Haverhill Public Schools | 10 | $30,000 | 12/14/2022 |
| Holyoke Community Charter School | 8 | $24,000 | 5/4/2022 |
| Holyoke Public Schools | 5 | $15,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Hopkinton Public Schools | 11 | $33,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Immaculate Conception School | 2 | $6,000 | 1/11/2023 |
| Lawrence Public Schools | 6 | $18,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Leverett School District | 2 | $6,000 | 7/12/2023 |
| Little Ones Child Care of Sterling LLC | 1 | $3,000 | 11/2/2022 |
| Littleton Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Longmeadow Public Schools | 7 | $21,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Lowell Public School | 3 | $9,000 | 5/4/2022 |
| Lunenburg Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 6/1/2022 |
| Mansfield Public Schools | 12 | $36,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Mariposa Child-Care Center Inc | 1 | $3,000 | 10/5/2022 |
| Maynard Public Schools | 8 | $24,000 | 6/29/2022 |
| Medway Public School | 12 | $36,000 | 6/1/2022 |
| Melrose Public School District | 8 | $24,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Methuen Public Schools | 5 | $15,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| MetroWest Jewish Day School | 1 | $3,000 | 6/1/2022 |
| Middleborough Public Schools | 7 | $21,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Mohawk Trail Regional School District | 4 | $12,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| My Little Best Friends Early Learning Center | 1 | $3,000 | 11/2/2022 |
| Nashoba Regional School | 14 | $42,000 | 6/29/2022 |
| New Bedford Public School | 32 | $96,000 | 6/29/2022 |
| New Salem-Wendell School District | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| North Adams Public Schools | 3 | $9,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| North Andover Public Schools | 7 | $21,000 | 06/03/2020 |
| Our Future Learning Center Inc | 4 | $12,000 | 2/8/2023 |
| PACE Head Start | 3 | $9,000 | 10/5/2022 |
| Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical School District | 1 | $3,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Pittsfield Public Schools | 18 | $54,000 | 07/08/2020 |
| Quincy Public Schools | 65 | $195,000 | 07/08/2020 |
| Salem Public Schools | 28 | $84,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| South Hadley Public Schools | 4 | $12,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Springfield Public Schools | 70 | $210,000 | 5/3/2023 |
| St Columbkille Partnership School | 1 | $3,000 | 8/2/2023 |
| St John the Evangelist School | 3 | $9,000 | 1/11/2023 |
| St Stanislaus Kostka School | 2 | $6,000 | 4/5/2023 |
| Torah Academy Inc | 1 | $3,000 | 8/2/2023 |
| Triton Regional School District | 4 | $12,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Wachusett Regional School District | 24 | $72,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Wakefield Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Wareham Public Schools | 1 | $3,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Worcester Public Schools | 2 | $6,000 | 04/29/2020 |
| Worcester Public Schools | 50 | $150,000 | 6/29/2022 |
| 66 Grants | 569 Fixtures | $1,707,000 | — |
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Authors
Deirdre Cummings
Legislative Director, MASSPIRG
Deirdre runs MASSPIRG’s public health, consumer protection and tax and budget programs. Deirdre has led campaigns to improve public records law and require all state spending to be transparent and available on an easy-to-use website, close $400 million in corporate tax loopholes, protect the state’s retail sales laws to reduce overcharges and preserve price disclosures, reduce costs of health insurance and prescription drugs, and more. Deirdre also oversees a Consumer Action Center in Weymouth, Mass., which has mediated 17,000 complaints and returned $4 million to Massachusetts consumers since 1989. Deirdre currently resides in Maynard, Mass., with her family. Over the years she has visited all but one of the state's 351 towns — Gosnold.
Yash Patel
Program Intern, Boston University
Boston University, Class of 2025
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