Take action on lead in drinking water today!
No fooling, the Senate Ways & Means Committee will hear public testimony on April 1st regarding E2SHB 1139, taking action on lead in drinking water. Washington State PTA would like you to “take action” by signing in as “Pro” before noon on April 1 on this important bill.
Here’s what to do:
- Click on this link and follow the prompts to pick Pro, write your name, and add “Parent Advocate” in the Organization space.
- Fill in the rest of the information.
- Tell them you aren’t a robot and click on “Submit Registration.”
And that’s it! The process will take you less than 30 seconds to complete.
Parent advocate Gwen Loosmore will be testifying before the budget committee on behalf of Washington State PTA, but we’d like as many people as possible to sign in Pro as a way of encouraging the committee to keep the bill moving this session.
Here’s a little more on this issue, prepared by Dr. Loosmore:
Thousands of children in Washington schools drink water with levels of lead high enough to reduce their IQ and cause physical and behavioral health problems. We can do better. Lead gets into drinking water through aging faucets and fixtures, and often a simple filter is enough to prevent exposure. Our state needs to test all schools and remediate those with high levels of lead. Please take action today to ensure clean, drinkable water for our children as they return to school.
Washington state does not currently require school districts to test school water for lead. Between 2018-2020, 82% of school districts that voluntarily tested their water had at least one water outlet with unhealthy levels of lead. We can protect our children by making sure that all school faucets and outlets are tested by the State Department of Health and by making sure school districts have the funding they need to fix any problem outlets. E2SHB 1139 will do just this.