The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded $1,581,000 to the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) to help identify sources of lead in drinking water in schools or child care facilities.
The ITCA project will serve schools or child care facilities at federally-recognized Tribes located in New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, and the Navajo Nation. The project will also build on previous lead-testing programs at Tribal schools in the areas.
“Protecting children’s health is one of the most important aspects of EPA’s mission, and we could not fulfill this mission without the instrumental partnerships with our states and tribes,” said Acting Regional Administrator David Gray. “As part of Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and Children’s Health Month, EPA is excited to announce the WIIN grants to help reduce lead in school drinking waters and protect children where they learn and play.”
“Water is sacred in all forms and especially with regard to the drinking water we provide to our children,” said Maria Dadgar, Executive Director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. “We look forward to working with Tribal schools and child care facilities to assist with developing programs for monitoring their facilities’ drinking water plumbing. This will include providing technical assistance to support addressing older plumbing fixtures and in general, work toward improving the quality of their drinking water.”
ITCA’s funding was awarded under the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act for states, territories, and tribes to test for lead in schools and childcare facilities. The Voluntary Lead Testing in Schools and Child Care Drinking Water grant program aim to help protect children’s health and make progress under the Federal Action Plan to Reduce Childhood Lead Exposures.
The grant supports EPA’s action plan for reducing lead in school drinking water—Training, Testing, and Taking Action, or the 3 Ts. This toolkit helps prepare schools, child care facilities, and grantees to build a voluntary implementation program to reduce lead levels in drinking water with detailed training modules and materials.
