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 at that location. To fix this, the best thing to do is remove the plumbing and replace it with certified lead-free parts.
The Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ program removes old plumbing containing lead, such as water fountains and faucets, and installs new fixtures that comply with NSF/ANSI Standard 61, which is the best available certification for making sure drinking water system components are safe.¹ Then, to further protect against other any other potential sources of lead in the building, a filter certified to remove lead² is also installed at drinking and cooking taps, including all water fountains.
What is the process for mitigation?
For facilities that participate in the program, the process for mitigating lead in drinking and cooking water includes seven 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.
Can a facility use their own preferred contractor?
Some facilities may prefer to use their own facilities and maintenance staff or their own contractor for installation of new plumbing components. Facilities that elect to hire their own contractor may be reimbursed for up to $1,000 of labor expenses, while funding lasts. Facilities that choose to handle plumbing installations through their own facility or district-level maintenance staff are not eligible for labor reimbursement.
Can a facility choose to opt out?
Some facilities may prefer to install different brands of plumbing products than what will be supplied under the program to match what is already installed at other locations in the facility. These facilities can choose to opt out of the free mitigation and purchase and install replacement plumbing components at their own expense. (Reimbursements will not be issued for installation of products not supplied by the program). All facilities are still required to document mitigation actions in the Clean Classrooms for Carolina Kids™ portal.
What happens after mitigation is complete?
After any new faucets, fountains, and filters are installed, staff members from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will conduct post-mitigation sampling to confirm that water lead levels at all drinking and cooking taps are below 10 ppb.
Have questions?
Contact our program:
Online: www.cleanwaterforuskids.org/carolina/contact
Phone: 1-888-997-9290
Plumbing and Installation Contractors:
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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.