School and Childcare Drinking Water Testing FAQs

Children absorb lead more easily than adults, and their developing bodies are more vulnerable to its effects. Because kids spend so much time at school and childcare facilities, drinking from fountains, faucets, and classroom sinks, these buildings are a meaningful place to catch potential exposure early.

The EPA's 3Ts framework (Training, Testing, and Taking Action) has encouraged voluntary lead testing in schools and childcares for years. The LCRI now makes this testing a requirement, so protections are more consistent nationwide. There is no known safe level of lead in drinking water, so the goal is simple: find and fix elevated levels as quickly as possible.

The utility is ultimately responsible for making sure sampling happens, but the process is a team effort. Your utility (often working with a partner like 120Water) will:

• Identify schools and childcare facilities in its service area
• Provide sampling kits and instructions
• Share results with your facility
• Coordinate any follow-up if results are elevated
Facility staff are responsible for following the collection instructions, completing the Chain of Custody form, and returning the kit to the lab on time.

A Chain of Custody (CoC) is a form that tracks your water sample from collection to lab analysis. It confirms the sample wasn't altered and includes signatures, dates, and times from everyone who handled it. Before you seal up your kit, take a minute to fill out the CoC completely and sign it. A missing or incomplete form is one of the most common reasons results get delayed, so this small step makes a real difference.

Your kit includes multiple sample bottles, instructions, and a Chain of Custody form. Follow the instructions to fill the bottles and complete the form, then place both back in the box. Put the prepaid shipping label over the old one, then drop the box in your mailbox or take it to the post office. You'll receive results by mail within 4 to 6 weeks. If your results are elevated, we'll notify you right away.

The number of samples depends on your facility type. Focus on fixtures regularly used for drinking, and skip ones that aren't, like janitor sinks or outdoor spigots.

Schools collect 5 samples total:

• 2 from drinking water fountains
• 1 from a kitchen faucet used for food or drink prep
• 1 from a classroom faucet or other outlet used for drinking
• 1 from a nurse's office faucet, if available

Childcare facilities collect 2 total:

• 1 from a drinking fountain or classroom faucet currently in use
• 1 from a kitchen faucet used for food or drink prep, or another classroom faucet used for drinking

If your facility doesn't have a listed fixture type, such as no drinking fountain, substitute another fixture used regularly for drinking and note it on your Chain of Custody form.

If you have fewer drinking sources than recommended, just note that on the form. Keep in mind that young kids don't always draw a line between fixtures, a bathroom faucet is just as likely a source as a water fountain. If that's a real possibility at your facility, it's worth sampling that fixture too, especially in childcares and elementary schools.

Samples must be first-draw samples, meaning the water has sat unused in the building's plumbing for a set amount of time before collection. This is what makes the sample meaningful: it reflects any lead that has leached from nearby plumbing.

Water must sit unused for at least 8 hours, and no more than 18 hours, before you collect your sample. Best practice: collect samples first thing in the morning, before children or staff arrive, using water that sat overnight. Avoid Monday mornings, since weekend water will have sat too long. If your facility has been closed for a holiday, wait for a day with normal overnight conditions.

If a single filtration system treats water at every fixture your facility uses for drinking, you don't need to bypass anything, just collect your samples as normal. That filtered water is what students and staff are actually drinking, so it's the right water to test.

If only some fixtures have a point-of-use filter attached, like a filter on one water fountain or faucet, skip those fixtures and collect from the ones without a filter instead. A filtered sample doesn't reflect what's actually coming through your building's plumbing at that fixture, so it won't give you an accurate result.

If you're not sure whether your facility's filtration covers every fixture used for consumption, check with your maintenance staff, remove the filter before sampling, or contact 120Water before sampling.

Return your samples as quickly as possible after collection. Prompt return ensures the laboratory can process it using EPA required methods and that your samples do not sit longer than the maximum allowable 14 days.

Your samples go directly to a certified laboratory for analysis. Your Chain of Custody (CoC) will be checked to make sure we have all the information needed to analyze your samples. Once results are available you will typically receive a letter in the mail notifying you of your results.

Your utility reviews all results as part of its ongoing effort to monitor water quality and make sure your community continues to be protected. Your sample tells two stories at once. It gives you a direct and personal window into the water quality at your own tap, and it helps your utility build a clearer picture of water quality across the whole community.

You will receive a copy of your test results by mail within 4-6 weeks of returning your sample kit. If you need your results sooner, reach out to 120Water and we can email them to you directly.

If your results show elevated levels of lead or any other substance, check your results letter for next steps. You can also contact your water utility or local health department with any questions.

Sharing results, whether they show lead or not, shows your commitment to health and safety.

A few ways to communicate:

• Post results on your facility's website and somewhere visible in the building
• Send a letter or email to parents and guardians
• Explain what the results mean and what steps you're taking
• If a result shows lead, share which fixture was affected and what you're doing about it

Keep copies of your communications and the dates you sent them. Good record keeping shows you're staying on top of it, and it helps if questions come up later.

These are all ways of measuring how much of a substance is in your water. Lead results are usually reported in ppb (parts per billion) or µg/L (micrograms per liter), since the amounts involved are extremely small. Ppm (parts per million) and mg/L (milligrams per liter) are two names for the same measurement, and so are ppb and µg/L. One ppm equals 1,000 ppb.

To put that in perspective, the EPA's lead Action Level is 15 ppb, roughly like 15 pennies in 10 million dollars. That's how small these amounts are, and why labs need specialized equipment to detect them. Most school and childcare results fall well below that level, often reported simply as Non-Detect.

RL stands for Reporting Limit, the lowest amount of a substance a lab can reliably measure. If your result shows "<0.5 ppb" or "<RL," it means the lab tested your water but the amount of lead present, if any, was too small to measure accurately. For most lead testing, the Reporting Limit is 0.5 or 1 ppb for Lead (Pb).

ND stands for Non-Detect. It means the lab tested your water and did not find lead at or above the Reporting Limit (RL). You may also see this written as "<RL," for example "<0.5 ppb." A Non-Detect result is good news. It means lead was either absent or too low to measure.