Funding will help public schools repair leaded pipes
Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to pass the “Drinking Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Act,” including U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff’s provisions providing funding for remediation of lead pipes at public schools in Georgia and nationwide to ensure every child has clean, healthy drinking water.
Thanks to Sen. Ossoff’s leadership, the bill includes $200 million to repair lead pipes in schools, and $100 million for general remediation of lead pipes in communities across Georgia and the country.
“I have ensured this water bill provides funding for the removal of lead pipes in our public schools. This is a huge win for Georgia. All children deserve clean, healthy water,” Sen. Ossoff said. “I thank my colleagues in both parties for supporting this provision and I thank committee Chairman Tom Carper for his hard work on this vital water bill.”
Sen. Ossoff had been pushing his colleagues tirelessly to include the funding in the bill, arguing it is key to the replacement of lead in public schools. Georgia, along with 22 other states, received an “F” in a non-profit “Get the Lead Out” study that looked at protecting students from lead in drinking water.
At the moment, Georgia’s State Board of Education is testing 800 schools for lead in drinking water, and preliminary estimates suggest high levels of lead in hundreds of Georgia school faucets.
Before this bill, federal funding could only be used to test for lead in pipes, and the burden then fell on local schools and school districts to fund the repairs of lead pipes.
Now, thanks to Sen. Ossoff, funding will be available to also help schools pay for these repairs and keep our children safe.
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