An Overview of the Process for Schools and Child Care Facilities
This webpage provides a simple overview of the process for mitigating lead in drinking and cooking water with the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ program.
Which taps require mitigation?
Public schools and child care facilities must restrict use to any drinking or cooking water tap that tests above the NC lead poisoning hazard level of 10 parts per billion (ppb). These taps are eligible for mitigation with the program (10A NCAC 41A .1001-.1007).
What does it mean to mitigate lead in drinking or cooking water taps?
When lead is detected in water, it means that the faucet or some other part of the building’s plumbing has an unacceptable amount of lead in it that is leaching into the water. To fix this, the best thing to do is replace the plumbing fixture (such as the faucet) with certified lead-free parts.
The Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ program supports facilities in the selection and purchase of plumbing fixtures, such as faucets and water fountains that comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61, which is the best available certification for making sure drinking water system components are safe.¹ To further protect against other any other potential sources of lead in the building, a filter certified to remove lead² may also be used at drinking and cooking taps, including all water fountains.
What is the process for mitigation?
With support from the program, the process for mitigating lead in drinking and cooking water includes the following steps:
What brands of products will be installed?
New water fountains, bottle fillers, and faucet fixtures installed under the program will be supplied by Murdock Manufacturing and T&S Brass.
Is there reimbursement for labor?
Facilities that select ‘Partial Service’ are eligible for reimbursement for labor charges completed by external plumbing contractors. Facilities will be required to submit receipts for contractor labor charges incurred. Labor from facility-level or district-level staff will not be reimbursed.
What happens after mitigation is complete?
After any new plumbing fixture(s) are installed, local/regional environmental health officials will be notified to schedule post-mitigation sampling to confirm that water lead levels at all drinking and cooking taps are below 10 ppb.
Questions?
Contact Our Program:
Online: www.cleanwaterforuskids.org/carolina/contact
Phone: 1-888-997-9290
Plumbing Contractor:
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
¹ All plumbing products installed under the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ program comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61 Annex G, which requires that faucets leach less than 1 ppb of lead during testing. According to federal limits, even brand-new faucets certified to NSF/ANSI Standard 61 can have up to 0.25% lead that may leach out of the faucet during the first several weeks of use. For this reason, it is important to thoroughly flush new faucets after they are installed.
² All filters installed under the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ program are certified to NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53 for removal of both particulate and dissolved lead. These certifications ensure removal of up to 150 ppb of lead for the manufacturer-stated lifetime of the device.