Farewell, water fountains: Philly schools have installed 2,404 water bottle filling stations. Here’s why.
The water bottle filling stations will replace old school water fountains, which, when tested, contaminated water with lead.
The Philadelphia School District has installed 2,404 water bottle filling stations in schools citywide — meeting a legal obligation to replace its old-school water fountains by June 1.
“It’s an important achievement for the school district,” said David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, an advocacy group. “It’s really considered the gold standard in steps that can be taken to prevent the threat of lead contamination in school buildings.”
Prior to the replacement, nearly all — 98% — of district water sources tested had some lead contamination, according to a 2022 analysis of district water sources conducted by PennEnvironment and a coalition of city nonprofits.
City Council in 2022 passed a law that gave the district three years to replace all water fountains, requiring a ratio of one lead-filtering water bottle filling station per 100 students.
The school system at the time was meeting a law that permitted a 10-parts-per-billion limit to the amount of lead in school drinking fountains. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations say there is no safe lead level, given lead’s effects on children’s health. Even low levels of lead can cause behavior problems and lower a child’s IQ.
Confirming that the district met the City Council deadline, spokesperson Monique Braxton said there are “approximately 360 units available” through a federal Environmental Protection Agency grant the district received to accelerate its clean-water efforts.
“Expansion efforts continue at locations beyond classrooms including the Germantown, South Philadelphia and West Philadelphia field houses and locker rooms to further promote student health and hydration,” Braxton said in a statement.
While some fountains physically remain in schools, their water supplies have been turned off, and work orders have been entered to remove them, officials said.
Solutions to many environmental issues in schools are complicated and costly. But the water fountain-replacement project is a lesson that addressing lead in drinking water is a solvable problem, given creative funding solutions and political will, Masur said — “if a big, cash-strapped district and municipality like Philly can do this, probably all school districts should be able to implement these best practices.”
Environmental challenges remain
Philadelphia still certainly has environmental challenges, including lead paint and asbestos in many of its 300-plus aging buildings.
The district recently signaled it is under federal investigation for its asbestos-management processes; its school board was set to approve a proposed agreement “between The School District of Philadelphia and the United States Department of Justice with respect to an ongoing investigation of the district’s asbestos management practices."
But the feds said at the eleventh hour they were “not ready to proceed” with the agreement, according to school board president Reginald Streater, forcing the board to withdraw the resolution. The investigation, and its consequences, remain unresolved, with no clear timeline moving forward.