Pittsburgh Public Schools addressed lead in drinking water by installing filtered fountains
Pittsburgh Public Schools officials are celebrating the completion of its “Filter First” project, aimed at enhancing the safety of students’ drinking water.
PPS removed every non-filtered drinking fountain in each of its school buildings across the district, replacing them with lead-filtering fountains and water bottle-filling stations.
“Today marks a monumental achievement for the health and well-being of our students and staff,” said PPS Superintendent Dr. Wayne Walters, who, along with the statewide environmental group PennEnvironment, kicked off National Drinking Water Week with a celebratory event on Monday. “By prioritizing water safety through our ‘Filter First’ approach, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing nurturing school environments that foster learning and growth.”
Launched in 2016, the PPS “Drinking Water Quality Management Initiative” set out to ensure all students and staff had access to high-quality drinking water, free from lead and other contaminants.
Under the guidance of Environmental/Sustainability Manager Sanjeeb Manandhar, the district initiated a testing protocol for all drinking water fountains and other outlets across its facilities. Simultaneously, dozens of new chilled lead-filtering water coolers were installed annually.
In total, PPS installed 904 chilled lead-filtering drinking fountains and 391 filtered bottle-filling stations across 70 school buildings, field houses and administrative buildings. The district also added 175 lead-filtering sink outlets to early childhood education classrooms and select nurses’ offices.
“While studies show that lead is commonly found in school drinking water across Pennsylvania and the nation, the leadership of the Pittsburgh Public Schools shows that it doesn’t have to be that way,” noted PennEnvironment Executive Director David Masur. “Now is the time for school districts across Pennsylvania and the nation to follow Pittsburgh’s lead and get the lead out of school drinking water once and for all.”
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