A bill that will test water for lead in Colorado schools passed the Colorado Legislature last week.
As The Denver Post reports, after receiving bipartisan support, House Bill 1306 will soon become state law that will provide money for Colorado schools to voluntarily test for lead in drinking water.
With the bill’s passage, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will have the authority to establish a grant program to test for lead in drinking water in public schools that use public water systems. Up to $300,000 in grants could be used each year for three years and $140,000 would be spent to implement the program.
The measure also requires school districts to chip in 10 percent in local matching funds and give the test results to the local public health agency, water supplier, school board and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
If a school tests positive for lead, the school district or a local government will have to pay for cleanup costs but officials said those schools that do will have several routes for funding clean-up of the water.
