The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awards $1,102,000 in grant funding to assist Georgia with identifying sources of lead in drinking water in schools or child care facilities.

“Addressing childhood lead exposure from drinking water sources is a top EPA priority,” said EPA Region 4 Administrator Mary S. Walker. “EPA is proud to help Georgia protect children and families from lead exposure and invest in thoughtful, preventative actions."

Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) will use the funds to support testing of drinking water in schools and child care programs, to ensure that children are not being exposed to lead in the water they consume.  Additionally, GaDOE will use the funds to educate and test for lead in schools in high risk communities throughout Georgia.

Under EPA’s new Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care grant program, EPA has awarded $43.7 million in grants towards funding the implementation of testing for lead in drinking water. This funding is a resource which creates or expands programs to test for lead in drinking water at schools and child care programs in states and the District of Columbia. EPA’s 3Ts (Training, Testing, and Taking Action) for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools will be used by the grantee to assist schools in implementing lead in drinking water testing including identifying sources of lead such as fountains.