Results for Lead in Drinking Water at Child Development and Youth Centers
The Navy is in the process of testing drinking water at all of its Child Development Centers, Child Development Group Homes Youth Centers, and Schools. This testing is recommended by EPA in schools and day care centers but is not required. However, in the interest of the health and welfare of the children using its facilities, the Navy has adopted a policy to perform the testing.
Lead most frequently gets into drinking water by leaching from plumbing materials and fixtures as water moves through a building's (or a home's) distribution system. Even though the drinking water you receive from your water supplier meets federal and state standards for lead, your building may have elevated lead levels due to corrosion of plumbing materials and water use patterns because “lead free” plumbing components were allowed to contain up to eight percent lead content until the law changed the lead free definition to 0.25% on January 1, 2014.
Because lead concentrations can change as water moves through the distribution system, the best way to know if a building might have elevated levels of lead in its drinking water is by testing the water inside that building. The Navy is following the EPA's voluntary program, "3 Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Facilities Revised Guidance," which is intended to assist schools and child care facilities with the steps needed to reduce a child's exposure to lead in drinking water. The "3 Ts" are Training, Testing and Telling. Facility staff members have been provided training on routine practices to minimize exposure to lead in drinking water. Testing is being accomplished at all facilities in the Navy.
As part of telling you about lead in drinking water at priority areas, links are provided on the General Information and Facts page that contain information on general water quality (Consumer Confidence Reports) at Navy installations, sources of lead in the environment, potential sources of lead in schools, lead facts for parents, a lead public health fact sheet, procedures to minimize lead exposure from drinking water, and an EPA fact sheet and FAQs document on lead in schools and child care facilities, as well as other important information.
The second part of telling is personal notification of staff and parents of the test results and corrective measures completed after sampling is completed at a facility. In addition to these notifications, this website serves as a continuation of the Navy’s ongoing commitment to ensure that all interested persons have access to available information and resources.
Parents are encouraged to contact the CDC staff, command leadership or their health care provider if they have individual questions or would like assistance in understanding and interpreting the results. If you have any health questions or concerns, we encourage you to call your health care provider.
