San Diego Unified School District - Let’s Get Lead Out of Our Water
Maya Trabulsi – KBPS evening Anchor, was entirely correct in saying “you cannot see it, smell, or taste it. But lead in drinking water can be toxic, especially to children.” - KBPS
There seems to be upside to the problem – individuals are acting with enough tenacity to stand up and make a difference. Thanks to this the San Diego Unified School District was proud to demonstrate and showcase its proposed solution to the massive problem just over a week ago at Clay Elementary School - “Filtered water hydration systems installed in all the district's schools.”
- So how does it work?
“The filtered water flows from either the drinking fountain or the tap above it, which is designed for filling up a water bottle. Laura Deehan is a public health advocate with California Public Interest Group (CALPIRG). She urges schools across the state to follow this model.”
Deehan has a strong and passionate opinion on the issue and is eager to be the leader in the movement for the school district’s adotion of this new and secure filtered water option. “It is possible to get the lead out and to protect children from this preventable public health threat," Deehan said. "We urge the board of education to adopt the plan at tonight’s board meeting so we can see the same transformation happen throughout the school district."
Image source: https://www.sandiegounified.org/do-i-live-within-san-diego-unified-school-district
The reason it is so important for more school districts to have activist energy and advocates such as Deehan is because the toxin is particularly harmful in children. When schools are where children spend a majority of their awake hours it is typically also where they drink the most water. Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin, and it builds up and stores itself in a number of places in the body as it circulates through the blood. This lead circulating through can lead to both physical and mental health development issues and complications. All because of a toxin that you can’t see or smell. “Lead problems usually start with corrosion in older pipes, dislodged over time, entering the water system.”
“The school district has been aggressively dealing with the issue of lead in drinking fountains since 2017, testing over 2,500 water samples. If adopted at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting, the system would hold the highest standard in the state.”
head over to the KBPS website to watch the video reported by Maya Trabulsi.
This is a massive step in the right direction friends! These are the sorts of actions we need to see being taken on a common basis! What we need to do is allow the people who have the power and ability to make these changes, to first see and understand the problem. The first step in doing this is to educate these individuals on the issue and then start testing the water for lead contamination an a frequent basis!
The intended plans for the San Diego Unified School District would come at a considerable cost, however, it solves an issue that could save the physical and cognitive development of tens of thousands of children and even save countless lives!
Push for water testing in your school district and see if similar actions can be taken in your children’s schools. The changes that need to be made are right in front of us, and the sources and knowledge to do it quickly, efficiently and consistently are readily available, its all about acting!