Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water

There is no safe blood-lead level for children. Even minor exposure can lead to irreversible health complications, including impaired neurological development, behavioral difficulties, reproductive concerns and stunted growth.

While federal standards such as the Safe Drinking Water Act have successfully reduced lead in plumbing for decades, the state of Missouri has taken additional measures to protect children’s health. 

In 2022, Missouri passed the Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act (RSMo 160.077), which sets rigorous limits on lead concentrations in school drinking water. Beginning the 2023-24 school year and each subsequent school year, each school district shall provide drinking water with a lead concentration level below five parts per billion (ppb) or milligrams/liter (mg/L) in amounts to meet the drinking water needs of all students and staff. 

To ensure compliance with this legislation, districts were required to take the following steps: 

• Inventory: Mapping all potable water outlets used for drinking, food preparation or cooking.
• Sampling: Testing water sources to ensure lead levels meet or fall below Missouri's strict state standard of 5 ppb.
• Remediation and Monitoring: Taking immediate action to filter, replace, or restrict any outlet that exceeds safety thresholds. 

Eligible public schools were reimbursed for qualifying expenses incurred between March 3, 2021, and December 31, 2024, upon successful submission of their required reports, applications and supporting documentation. All reimbursement funding for this program has been concluded.

Laws and Regulations

RSMo 160.077 – Get the Lead out of School Act (2022)
40 CFR Part 143 Subpart B  – Use of Lead-free Pipes, Fittings, Fixtures, Solder and Flux for Drinking Water

Reporting

Per the Get the Lead Out of School Drinking Water Act (RSMo 160.077), all schools must submit drinking water testing and remediation data to DHSS. To streamline the reporting process, visit our reporting portal. 

Before you begin your submission, please ensure you have the following organized and verified:

• Water Outlet Inventory: A complete list of all drinking water outlets at your facility.
• Testing and Remediation Data: All official analytical test results and details on any completed remediation efforts formatted according to the portal's guidelines.

Reporting should only be completed after all testing, and as necessary, remediation efforts are completed for the reporting year.

• Reporting year (August 1 - July 31). Any sampling efforts prior to August 1, 2023 will be reported in the August 1, 2023 - July 31, 2024 reporting year.
• File uploads of the official analytical test results and reports for each school. A prompt will be provided during the reporting process for the schools to upload these documents.
• The laboratory analytical lead detection level or reporting limit.
• Number of drinking outlets at each facility/campus location (elementary, middle, high school, etc.).
• Collective total number of all samples taken at each facility/campus location.
• Summary of drinking water outlet type greater than or equal to (≥) 5 ppb in the following outlet categories at each facility/campus location based on the initial sampling efforts.
  • Water fountain, water cooler, bottle filler
  • Kitchen outlets
  • Classroom outlets
  • Bathroom outlets
  • Ice maker
  • Hot drink machine
  • Other outlets (any outlet not listed above such as outdoor spigots, showers, etc.)
• Number of remediated outlets, summary of remediation methods, and number of outlets sampled post-remediation at each facility/campus location.