$2 million grant from EPA aims to remove lead pipes in Georgia schools and day cares

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Federal funding will address lead pipes in schools and day care centers.

Georgia is getting $2 million in federal funding to address lead in drinking water consumed by children.

The money from the Environmental Protection Agency grant will be used to replace pipes in schools and day care centers.  

Senior Advisor to President Biden Mitch Laundrieu said Georgia state officials will decide who gets the money but it comes with specific guidelines.

“They have to use the the funds to remove and replace lead pipes," he said. "They have to replace the faucets of the water fountains that the kids drink from, things like that. You know, it's pretty specific in this instance, because that's what the challenge is and that's what the mission is.” 

Laundrieu said the plan helps “give kids the tools they need to be healthy.”

Schools and day care centers were targeted to best minimize children's lead exposure. Lead exposure can cause brain damage among other health risks in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is not detectable by taste or smell in water. 

Lead soldering on water pipes was outlawed in Georgia in 1986. But Laundrieu said lack of funding has left some lead pipes still around.  

The money is part of a nationwide $58 million grant.