Next to air, water is the most essential element for human survival.  Our bodies and brains need it to keep going and drinking enough of it can substantially reduce the risk of certain diseases.  Because even mild dehydration can cause kids to lose focus and have difficulty with short-term memory, we urge them to drink up all day long.  But if they are drinking from the fountains at school, there’s a chance they may be doing more harm than good.  According to an Associated Press investigation, drinking water in thousands of schools in all 50 states has been found to have unsafe levels of contaminates including lead, pesticides and other toxins. 

In an investigation of records that spanned ten years, the majority of offenders were found to be schools with wells.  Those schools are required to test their water and report findings to the state.  Despite that, many of the schools that were found to be in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act were repeat offenders.  What’s more, even those that tested clean might be missing something as the tests often don’t reveal the presence of lead, which is especially harmful to growing children.

Even schools who get their water from a local utility aren’t guaranteed to have safe drinking water as the lead-soldered pipes in the schools themselves can cause contamination.

So, just who is responsible for making sure our kids have safe drinking water at school?  According to experts on the subject, that job falls to a mix of local, state and federal agencies who don’t always work together or have the authority to make changes.  What’s needed, they say, is a comprehensive national strategy for monitoring water in schools — an expensive proposition.

In the meantime, if you are wondering about the drinking water in your own child’s school, perhaps you should do some investigating of your own. In 2004, the Environmental Protection Agency asked each state to come up with a plan to control lead in their school’s drinking water.   Here is what they promised:  Alabama through Nebraska (pdf) and Nevada through Wyoming (pdf). Did your state follow through?

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