DOH, HIDOE launch website to monitor progress of repairs to school drinking water fixtures

In 2021 and 2022, the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH) and the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (HIDOE) collaborated on a project to test all drinking water sources at HIDOE elementary schools for lead.

The project, which was funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Water Infrastructure Improvement for the Nation (WIIN) Act, found evidence of lead in the drinking water in about 15% of drinking water sources at elementary schools across the state. 

Results of the testing were posted publicly on the WIIN project website and were also displayed in school offices. One of the studies found lead in water in 37 fixtures at 12 public schools across Maui County in 2021. Drinking water taps discovered with lead were immediately removed from service or turned into handwashing-only stations, according to the DOH.

As a result of the findings, DOH and HIDOE competed for and were awarded a $1.4 million grant from the EPA to replace the problematic fixtures and re-test the water to confirm the lead is no longer present.

Of the 1,500 water fixtures scheduled for replacement at 170 elementary schools, more than 600 fixtures have been replaced with confirmation testing showing an 85% success rate of eliminating measurable lead.

The water sources that have not passed confirmatory testing are being evaluated for further repair and remediation efforts, stated the DOH, with remaining fixtures expected to be replaced over the next few months with scheduling dependent on the availability of contractors, plumbers and supplies in the school’s area.

A new website has been launched to allow the public to track the progress of the ongoing fixture replacements and to view lab results of the confirmatory testing. 

The WIIN Fixture Replacement Project Progress website can be viewed by visiting the WIIN Project website and clicking on the blue button labeled “WIIN Fixture Replacement Project.”  The progress of the replacements and the confirmatory water testing is updated daily. 

For more details of the WIIN testing project including initial laboratory results, visit https://health.hawaii.gov/WIIN.