Official State of Rhode Island website

State of Rhode Island Department of Health

Testing School and Child Care Facility Drinking Water for Lead

Purpose

In 2023, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the University of Rhode Island (URI) Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program, and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) collaborated to develop a voluntary, statewide program to test the drinking water in K-12 schools and child care facilities for lead. The results of that testing will be uploaded here when available. If you don’t see your facility here, check back periodically.  

Licensed child care centers and family child care facilities will be eligible for testing. Family child care facilities offer care for small groups of children and are located in residential buildings, such as a houses, apartments, or condo units. Child care centers are usually located in commercial buildings. Centers are larger and care for more children than family child care providers. For more information, visit the Department of Human Services website.

The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (WIIN Act) addresses, supports, and improves America's drinking water infrastructure. Federal grant funds from the WIIN Act have been used to develop a program to test drinking water for lead at Rhode Island schools and child care facilities. 

Key Information

Most lead in water comes from metal wearing away in old pipes, lead-based solder, or brass fittings on faucets or water fountains.  

People can be exposed to lead by drinking contaminated water. Lead exposure can cause lifelong health problems. The effects are most serious for babies, young children, and people who are pregnant.  

The only way to know if there is lead in drinking water is to test for it. If lead was found in any water sample, take appropriate actions based on the results.

Drinking water from schools and child care facilities throughout Rhode Island is being tested for lead. Each facility tested multiple water faucets and fountains.  

In 2016-2017, drinking water from multiple water faucets and fountains in schools and daycare facilities throughout Rhode Island were tested for lead. Those results can be found by clicking here.  

How data are collected

The University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension (URI) and participating facilities identified water fountains and taps that are used for drinking or cooking to be sampled. Samples of drinking water were collected and transported to the State Health Laboratory by URI. The State Health Laboratory analyzed the water samples for lead. There was no cost to the school district or child care facility for these services.

Key Findings

  • Information will be added as it become available.
     
Use the drop-downs below to find results by:

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What you should know

Lead in drinking water can cause lead exposure and lifelong health problems. Drinking water is rarely the primary cause of lead exposure in Rhode Island. Children are most often exposed to lead through lead-based paint and paint dust found in a home, especially if it was built before 1978. In 2023, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the University of Rhode Island (URI) Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program and the Rhode Island Department of Health collaborated to develop a voluntary, statewide program to test the drinking water in K-12 schools for lead.

What do the test results mean?

Lead is measured in water in parts per billion (ppb). Depending on the results, there are actions that schools can take to lower lead levels in the water or keep them low.

  • Any sample result that is higher than 10 ppb is above the new action level set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Schools are strongly recommended to take action to lower the lead level.
  • Any sample result between 1 and 10 ppb is below the EPA’s new action level. There are still suggested actions schools can take to lower lead in the drinking water.
  • Any sample result that is less than 1 ppb is below the detection level for lead. The detection level is the lowest level of lead that can be reliably measured in water.
  • Contact your school for information on what action level they are using and what actions they are taking in response to these results.

As part of the study, multiple samples were taken at each location. These samples are labeled first draw and second draw in the “Type” column.

How samples were collected and tested

The data shown here are from a statewide assessment using a consistent method to test. Contact your school for additional information, such as other testing efforts or samples taken as part of remediation efforts.
 

 

Use the drop-downs below to find results by:

or

What you should know

Lead in drinking water can cause lead exposure, which can cause lifelong health problems. Drinking water is rarely the primary cause of lead exposure in Rhode Island. Children are most often exposed to lead through lead-based paint and paint dust found in a home, especially if it was built before 1978. The Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE), the University of Rhode Island (URI) Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program and the Rhode Island Department of Health have collaborated to develop a voluntary, statewide program to test the drinking water in K-12 schools and childcare facilities for lead.

What do the test results mean?

Lead is measured in water in parts per billion (ppb). Depending on the results, there are actions that child care facilities can take to lower lead levels in the water or keep them low.

  • Any sample result that is higher than 10 ppb is above the new action level set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Child care facilities are strongly recommended to take action to lower the lead level.
  • Any sample result between 1 and 10 ppb is below the EPA’s new action level. There are still suggested actions child care facilities can take to lower lead in the drinking water.
  • Any sample result that is less than 1 ppb is below the detection level for lead. The detection level is the lowest level of lead that can be reliably measured in water.
  • Contact your child care facility for information on what action level they are using and what actions they are taking in response to these results.

As part of the study, multiple samples were taken at each location. These samples are labeled first draw and second draw in the “Type” column.

How samples were collected and tested

The data shown here are from a statewide assessment using a consistent method to test. Contact your child care facility for additional information.
 

 

Data Source