School and Child Care – Lead Sampling Projects

Exposure to lead in drinking water can cause serious health effects in all age groups. Infants and children can have decreases in IQ and attention span. Lead exposure can lead to new learning and behavior problems or exacerbate existing learning and behavior problems. The children of women who are exposed to lead before or during pregnancy can have increased risk of these adverse health effects. Adults can have increased risks of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney or nervous system problems. Please visit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website to learn more.

Lead can enter drinking water when water pipes, fixtures, or service connections that contain lead wear down (corrode). Corrosion is more likely to occur when the chemistry of the water has a lower pH or a low mineral content.  One of the most common problems occurs with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures with lead solder (the material that joins metal pieces together). Lead can enter the water from these sources, especially when hot water is used.

A number of factors play a role in lead presence. These factors include:

• The pH of the water
• Type of minerals in the water
• Temperature of the water
• How long the water sits in pipes
• Whether protective coatings line the water pipes

Schools and child care facilities built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures, and solder. Facilities constructed on or after September 4, 2018, which is when Virginia limited water pipes and fittings to no more than 0.15% lead, are less likely to find the presence of lead.

To find out if your facility's internal water pipes and fixtures (premise plumbing) contain lead, enroll in our sampling program. In addition, your water utility or a licensed plumber can help you determine if the service line pipe that connects your facility to the water main is made of lead or contains lead.

All public PreK-12 schools and licensed child care facilities are encouraged to apply. The definition of a school means any building(s) associated with public institutions that primarily provides teaching and learning for elementary or secondary students. A child care facility means a location that houses a licensed provider of child care, day care, or early learning services to children, as determined by the State, local, or tribal licensing agency.

Public water systems serving these facilities are also eligible to enroll in the sampling program.

Water systems, school or child care facility representatives, or other appropriately trained individuals may collect samples.

It is the facility’s responsibility to understand, manage and mitigate the factors influenced by sampling results. In general:

• We strongly encourage you to share these test results with parents and staff.
• Your results will be available on our public transparency dashboard to comply with the state rule and federal grant. You are welcome to share and/or link to this dashboard.
• We strongly recommend that you follow all risk mitigation strategies for taps with detectable lead. Once you make recommended changes, please note which changes you have made for each sample location on our 120Water portal. This is important for you to do and the public to see because we will post your risk mitigation strategy next to the sample results.
• For any samples containing lead at or above 10 ppb, immediately follow the steps to shut off the tap, post "Do Not Use" signage, and wait for mitigation support. The Office of Drinking Water and 120Water will coordinate mitigation for any taps that test above the state lead action level, as long as funding remains available.

Your laboratory results will be provided along with recommendations based on the concentration of lead in each sample. We recommend different actions depending on these concentrations. In general:

• Non-Detect – Practice “no cost” clean water habits
• Less than 10 ppb – Strongly recommend risk mitigation
• Greater than 10 ppb – Stop use of water source immediately and employ remediation activities

Flush your water pipes before drinking: “Flush” your pipes by running cold water until it becomes as cold as it will get. This could take as little as 30 seconds or 2 minutes or longer. This step is especially important when water from that faucet has not been used for 6 hours or more.

Only use cold water for eating and drinking: Use cold water for drinking, cooking, and especially for making baby formula. Run cold water until it becomes as cold as it can get before you use it.

Use water filters or treatment devices: Many water filters and treatment devices are certified to reduce lead in drinking water. A list of filters and treatment devices that have been certified to reduce lead can be found here: NSF International Certified Lead Filtration Devices.

Contact your water service provider: Using the contact information on your water bill, ask your water service provider for a copy of its annual Consumer Confidence Report (CCR). This report includes water quality details. In addition, be alert for any notices about water quality from your water service provider.

The Virginia Department of Health implements and enforces the federal Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) in Virginia.  Virginia’s Public Water Supplies Law and Waterworks Regulations spell out how this is done. The laws and regulations apply to public water systems, including city (municipal) and county water systems. Virginia’s regulations are consistent with the requirements of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). The VDH Office of Drinking Water (ODW) regularly monitors these water systems.

• Lead and Copper in Drinking Water - A collection of resources compiled by the Office of Drinking Water at VDH about lead and copper in drinking water.
• Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (CLPPP) - The CLPPP at VDH provides (1) surveillance and analysis of reported blood lead levels in children less than 16 years of age, (2) education and outreach to parents, communities, and health professionals about childhood lead poisoning and prevention, and (3) oversight to providers and local health department staff on screening, testing, and case management for children exposed to lead.

The State may issue a written waiver or partial waiver to the public waterworks if some or all schools are participating in a lead sampling program that satisfies specific conditions in the LCRR. This includes sampling sponsored by the Virginia School and Childcare Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program following the protocol in EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water.

Families who wish to nominate their student/child's facility are encouraged to contact us at leadtestingprogram@vdh.virginia.gov. A member of the Office of Drinking Water will coordinate efforts to have your child's facility enrolled.