By Bruce Rolfe
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) recently awarded $50 million in grant funding to schools across the state, including the Galesburg-Augusta and Athens School Districts, for the installation of bottle-filling stations, faucet-mount filters, filtered water pitchers, and replacement cartridges to protect students from lead under the Michigan Filter First law approved by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October 2023.
The grant funding will reimburse schools for the costs associated with complying with the Filter First law requiring licensed childcare centers and K-12 public and nonpublic schools to furnish drinking water to children that filters for lead. Childcare centers must comply with the new law by October 2025 and schools by June 2026.
The G-A School District will receive $94,446.36 for bottling-filling units, faucet-mounted filters, filtered pitchers, and replacement filter cartridges.
G-A Facilities Director and Middle School Robotics Coach Frank Couch said he arrived at the grant figure based on quotes from plumbing fixture vendors and plumbing contractors, as well as the requirements of the Filter First legislation.
“This work will be competitively bid to make sure the district gets it done at a fair price. The legislation requires the district to pay for the work and then submit proof to the state for reimbursement,” said Couch.
The G-A facilities director adds all fixtures installed will meet NSF/ANSI standards 42 for particulate and NSF/ANSI 53 for lead as required by the legislation.
Couch adds across the district’s three buildings, the funding will cover the cost for fixtures and installation of 13 bottle filling/drinking fountain stations, 4 high flow kitchen fixtures (for pot filling and food prep), 2 ice maker filters, 10 point of use filters for nurse stations and staff break rooms and one replacement filter for each of the fixtures listed.
The Athens School District will receive $6,210 for bottling-filling units, faucet-mounted filters and replacement filter cartridges.
C-S Superintendent of Schools Doug Newington said the C-S School District is already compliant.
He adds the district has already planned to replace the filters when needed. The C-S superintendent said funding decisions by the State of Michigan for most categorical accounts are made on an annual basis. If the state provides funds, the local school district will use them, however if funding is not available from the state in the future, the cost of the filters will be a part of the school district’s maintenance budget.
The $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will go to 612 public school districts, public school academies, and nonpublic schools. Grant funding will also benefit 122 childcare centers.
Under the new legislation, schools must develop a drinking water management plan (DWMP), install lead-reducing filters on all drinking water fixtures and test filtered water annually. Childcare centers must follow the same protocols and test their water every two years.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) recently awarded $50 million in grant funding to schools across the state, including the Galesburg-Augusta and Athens School Districts, for the installation of bottle-filling stations, faucet-mount filters, filtered water pitchers, and replacement cartridges to protect students from lead under the Michigan Filter First law approved by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October 2023.
The grant funding will reimburse schools for the costs associated with complying with the Filter First law requiring licensed childcare centers and K-12 public and nonpublic schools to furnish drinking water to children that filters for lead. Childcare centers must comply with the new law by October 2025 and schools by June 2026.
The G-A School District will receive $94,446.36 for bottling-filling units, faucet-mounted filters, filtered pitchers, and replacement filter cartridges.
G-A Facilities Director and Middle School Robotics Coach Frank Couch said he arrived at the grant figure based on quotes from plumbing fixture vendors and plumbing contractors, as well as the requirements of the Filter First legislation.
“This work will be competitively bid to make sure the district gets it done at a fair price. The legislation requires the district to pay for the work and then submit proof to the state for reimbursement,” said Couch.
The G-A facilities director adds all fixtures installed will meet NSF/ANSI standards 42 for particulate and NSF/ANSI 53 for lead as required by the legislation.
Couch adds across the district’s three buildings, the funding will cover the cost for fixtures and installation of 13 bottle filling/drinking fountain stations, 4 high flow kitchen fixtures (for pot filling and food prep), 2 ice maker filters, 10 point of use filters for nurse stations and staff break rooms and one replacement filter for each of the fixtures listed.
The Athens School District will receive $6,210 for bottling-filling units, faucet-mounted filters and replacement filter cartridges.
C-S Superintendent of Schools Doug Newington said the C-S School District is already compliant.
He adds the district has already planned to replace the filters when needed. The C-S superintendent said funding decisions by the State of Michigan for most categorical accounts are made on an annual basis. If the state provides funds, the local school district will use them, however if funding is not available from the state in the future, the cost of the filters will be a part of the school district’s maintenance budget.
The $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will go to 612 public school districts, public school academies, and nonpublic schools. Grant funding will also benefit 122 childcare centers.
Under the new legislation, schools must develop a drinking water management plan (DWMP), install lead-reducing filters on all drinking water fixtures and test filtered water annually. Childcare centers must follow the same protocols and test their water every two years.
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