What amount of lead is safe in drinking water?

Question: Should I be concerned about lead in Charlotte drinking water?

Answer: The EPA reports that the Safe Drinking Water Act does not govern approximately 90,000 public schools and quarter a million childcare centers across the nation. These institutions use water supplies like public utilities, and it is assumed that there is no issue with the water if the town has screened it and the screenings show a minimal amount of lead.

The concern is lead drains from the tubes, soldering or structures of the classroom facility into the water system of the school. While only a small sampling of schools across the nation have been tested for lead, of the schools tested in North Carolina, 79 North Carolina schools tested positive for lead levels above the level the EPA considers acceptable for lead levels. See this interactive map to see what these initial tests have revealed, keeping in mind that only some of the school water systems have been tested.

What You Can Do

Parents can send water to school with children in BPA-free reusable water bottles so kids will rely minimally on school drinking water.

Learn More

Learn about problems with lead in drinking water.

Learn about bottled water purity as compared to filtered water and tap water.