Delaware spending $3.8M for water filters in schools statewide after elevated lead levels

Delaware plans to spend $3.8 million to install water filters statewide throughout district and charter schools − a move that coincided Monday with state legislation introduced to remediate lead-based paint hazards in homes as the First State continues to tackle childhood lead exposure.

Delaware Education Secretary Mark Holodick announced the unprecedented funding during a news conference at Nemours Children’s Hospital in Rockland on Monday afternoon, an event that also unveiled plans to create a public fund to help property owners remediate lead-based paint hazards in homes.

The announcements build on Delaware’s efforts to tackle childhood lead poisoning and exposure after the state botched water sampling for lead in schools during the pandemic.

WATCHDOG REPORTING: How Delaware's handling of lead water testing put thousands of students and staff at risk

Since Delaware reversed course and hired an outside firm to resample drinking water sources for lead in schools, Holodick has alluded to plans for a “first filter” approach to proactively address lead exposures.

“Installing filtration systems, an example would be water filling stations, is health protective. It’s cost-effective, and it’s really a timely way to remove lead from school drinking water,” he said Monday. “It just makes good sense.”

Holodick said the resampling at schools is almost complete, which provides a guidebook for where to begin installing filters and performing other lead remediation efforts.

RETESTING: See the results on the state's public dashboard

FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Delaware claims, without data, that childhood lead exposure not caused by drinking water

What does the new legislation aim to do?

Senate Bill 9, introduced by Sen. Sarah McBride and co-sponsored by Rep. Larry Lambert in the Delaware House, creates a public fund to help property owners remediate lead-based paint hazards in homes where children have elevated blood lead levels, as well as outlines requirements for remediation and notification to impacted residents.

The fund will also cover the cost of temporary housing for residents while the remediation takes place.

“Importantly, we’re also incentivizing landlords to undertake remediation efforts on their own by including language that will bar them from raising rent for three years if the state has to step in to pay for remediation at one of their properties,” McBride said. “Finally, we’re charging the Childhood Lead Poisoning Advisory Committee (with sending) the Legislature a plan to ensure every residential rental property in Delaware is proactively screened for lead-based paint by 2026.”

When will property owners be required to remediate?

The bill, which was introduced Monday, must go through the typical legislative process and be debated by both the Delaware Senate and House before passage.

Once adopted, the state health department’s Division of Public Health will be tasked with identifying lead exposure sites any time a child returns a blood lead level of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or above (unless the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set a different maximum level) and notifying the property owner of those exposure points.

While the lead risk assessment is prompted by a child already exposed to lead, McBride pointed out that it will lead to remediation of rental units so future young tenants aren’t exposed.

“What we can do with this money is make sure that no other child gets exposed, remediate the problem as soon as possible so that the poisoning doesn’t get any worse,” she said. “And make sure that we’re putting these state resources into those highest priority homes and rental units.”

The law passed in June 2021 that requires blood lead testing for young children is in effect, state officials said, but the regulations are still being drafted. The state, for the fourth time, is taking written public comment until June 8 on the regulations governing the state’s childhood blood lead testing. The Division of Public Health will hold a hearing May 24.

Owners must notify other residents of potential lead exposure, provide alternative housing during remediation, and employ a state-certified contractor to do the work.

The legislation establishes a timeline to ensure notification and remediation take place in a timely fashion. It also prohibits landlords from increasing rent for three years following lead remediation if public funds are used.

Got a tip? Contact Amanda Fries at afries@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @mandy_fries.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware lead levels targeted with $3.8M for school water filters