Jerrod KingeryMichigan is making a major investment in bringing safe water to children in schools across the state.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is awarding $50 million in grant funding to schools for the installation of bottle-filling stations, faucet-mount filters, filtered water pitchers and replacement cartridges.
These improvements, which aim to protect students from lead, are required under the Michigan Filter First law approved in 2023.
The funding, from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, will go to public school districts and academies, as well as nonpublic schools and childcare centers.
Schools will be reimbursed by the grants for the costs associated with compliance with the Filter First law. It requires K-12 public and nonpublic schools as well as licensed childcare centers to furnish drinking water to children that filters for lead.
Childcare centers must comply with the new law by October 2025 and schools by June 2026.
Under the new law, schools are required to develop a drinking water management plan, install lead-reducing filters on all drinking water fixtures and test that filtered water for lead annually.
Childcare centers must follow the same requirements but must test their water every two years.
For a list of awardees and how the funds will be used, click here.
Image by Jason Gillman from Pixabay
