Texas will soon begin testing drinking water for lead in 25,000 schools/childcare facilities. For the very first time, we will know what children are exposed to.

The change comes from an EPA rule that was updated after the Flint water crisis. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/28/texas-lead-drinking-water-schools/

Young children are particularly vulnerable to the health effects of lead poisoning on the brain and nervous system. Lead exposure in children is known to cause slowed growth, behavior and learning problems, difficulty hearing and lower IQs.

At least 17 Texas school districts proactively tested drinking water for lead after Flint. Of the more than 1,000 schools in those districts, 13% found concentrations of lead above the federal threshold for corrective action

(data from @EnvironmentTex)

Correcting high levels of lead in water will be a huge effort for the state's water systems and TCEQ. Experts say it's difficult to identify which components of the system are at fault and the problem is extremely widespread with old lead-based infrastructure still in the ground.

That's why TCEQ asked for ~$8M from the #txlege to create a lead and copper testing and action program. The proposed Senate and House budgets dedicate $7.1M. It's unclear whether the federal govt may help fund the initiative—TCEQ director called it an "unfunded federal mandate."