#filterfirst

This story is part of the Michigan Environmental Council's 2022 member magazine, "ECOsystems: Working Wonders With Water." You can read the magazine in full here.

The Ecology Center knows lead poisoning well. For 50 years, the Environmental Council member group has connected the dots between our health and our environment by eliminating dangerous substances that infiltrate our daily lives.  

But the work became worryingly personal for Rebecca Meuninck, its deputy director, when lead was found in the drinking water of Ann Arbor School District. Her son went there.

Since then, Meuninck and the Ecology Center have become key leaders in the effort to eliminate the threat of lead in school drinking water in Ann Arbor and across the state.

The effort has been dubbed “Filter First,” and a coalition of 40 groups and individuals is driving it. Since 2019, it’s sought to get filtered drinking water stations installed in every school and childcare center in Michigan, virtually eliminating lead’s threat.

Thanks in part to Meuninck and the coalition, some $50 million of the state’s budget has been earmarked for the cause, and widely bipartisan legislation that would activate those funds is poised to pass in the coming months. If the bills become law, they could set the rest of the nation in motion.

“I’m hopeful that we can get it pushed through in Michigan, and we’re certainly going to share it with our friends in Ohio and other places throughout the Great Lakes,” Meuninck said. “We want to make sure kids all over the country are protected.”

FROM CRISIS TO ACTION

Filter First and its formula for success arguably stems from Ecology Center’s expertise and the lead poisoning dilemma Meuninck faced.

It was the wake of the Flint Water Crisis. School districts like Ann Arbor’s began to test their water for lead and found high levels of it in many of their buildings. This was scary news for the school district’s 17,000 students.

Lead poisoning lowers IQ and raises hyperactivity, making it difficult for children to learn in school and find financial success as adults. Lead also reduces impulse control, leaving those suffering prone to delinquency. And lead’s effects can surface far later in life, like through Parkinson’s disease and osteoporosis.

In effect, the schools meant to set children up for success were simultaneously, unknowingly hindering them. And Ann Arbor was not alone. Of the 114 Michigan schools and childcare facilities that voluntarily submitted water testing data to the state, 71% had lead levels above the legal filtered limit. No amount is safe.

Ann Arbor School District officials and concerned parents like Meuninck acted. They utilized a sinking fund and donations to test pipes for lead and fix those that had the toxic metal. But the nature of schools meant lead kept coming back, said Meuninck. 

At home, water always circulates. We brush our teeth, drink water, and flush toilets. At schools, there are always breaks in circulation—on the weekends, over holidays, through the summer. During those breaks, water sits stagnant, wearing off chemicals that keep lead at bay.

Compounding the issue was the average age of most Ann Arbor schools: 65 years. That’s well before lead was banned in most products. The same scenario plays out in hundreds of districts across Michigan: old schools, bad water circulation.

So, with parents like Meuninck assisting, the school district pivoted and installed lead filters on drinking water stations. These took much less money and time to install and maintain, and they were just as effective at eliminating lead. The district also kept the installation, maintenance, and test results of water transparent to the public.

The results were immediate. Lead levels dropped to nonexistence, and time will soon show the positive impact that has had on students’ grades, behavior, and energy.

Read the full article here