Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Lead Testing in Drinking Water Overview • Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council Inc.

Drinking water in the test tube for chemical and microbiological analysis

With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center (GLITEC) is partnering with the Indian Health Service (IHS) to test drinking water in Tribal schools and childcare centers for elevated levels of lead. This free and voluntary testing program helps ensure the health and safety of everyone who uses drinking water in Tribal schools and childcare centers, including children, parents, and staff.

Tribal schools and childcare centers in Minnesota and Wisconsin can participate

Participation is open to all Tribal schools and childcare centers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. This includes the following Tribally operated facilities:

Childcare centers
Head Start programs
Early Head Start Centers
Elementary schools
Middle schools
schools
Youth programs
After school programs
Daycare centers
Other centers deemed necessary for testing by Tribal leadership

Interested agencies located in Michigan should contact the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (ITCM) to participate in their Lead Testing in Drinking Water program.

Benefits of Participating

There is no safe level of lead in drinking water. By participating in this program, your facility will help minimize the harmful health effects of lead exposure in children. The protection of children’s health and well-being is essential for the next seven generations. This voluntary program provides FREE lead testing in drinking water and offers a monetary incentive up to $1,500 for participating facilities.

With funding through the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), GLITEC will support Tribal schools and childcare centers in Minnesota and Wisconsin by:

Providing free lead testing in drinking water
Offering a monetary incentive for participating facilities
Providing virtual educational opportunities
Assisting with planning actions to reduce lead in drinking water

Express your interest to participate

Please express your interest in participating by filling out the interest form in the “Sign up Here” tab on the left of this page.

A GLITEC employee will contact you with more information about the program after you complete the form.

Grant Information

On March 25, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $26 million in new funding for states, territories, and tribes to test for lead in schools and childcare facilities located in low-income and disadvantaged communities. On July 30, 2020, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that $4.3 million of this funding would be used to protect children in Tribal communities from lead exposure in drinking water at schools and childcare facilities. With this funding, the EPA continues to make progress towards engaging with and working to protect children’s health in communities.

Exposure to even small amounts of lead can be harmful to a child’s growth and development. Identifying and addressing potential lead contamination in drinking water at Tribal schools and childcare facilities is an important step to protecting children’s health. The most common sources of lead in drinking water are plumbing materials which contain lead, such as lead solder and lead pipes (used in older buildings), and water coolers which have brass fitting or lead-lined tanks. There is no safe level of lead in drinking water.

With the funding appropriated under section 1464(d) of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA), amended by the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIN) section 2107, the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center (GLITEC) is offering free and voluntary lead testing in drinking water for Tribal schools and childcare centers in Minnesota and Wisconsin. GLITEC is partnering with the Indian Health Service (IHS) Bemidji Area Office to conduct testing at Tribal schools and childcare centers. Tribal schools and childcare centers include the following:

Childcare centers
Head Start programs
Early Head Start Centers
Elementary schools
Middle schools
schools
Youth programs
After school programs
Daycare centers
Other centers deemed necessary for testing by Tribal leadership

Tribal education agencies in Michigan should contact the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (ITCM) to learn more about their program.

The principal objective of this program is to support local Tribal schools and childcare centers in reducing lead contamination in drinking water. Additional objectives of this program are the following:

Providing free lead testing in drinking water
Offering a monetary incentive for participating facilities
Providing virtual educational opportunities
Assisting with planning actions to reduce lead in drinking water