How to Keep Drinking Water Safe in School Facilities

There are approximately 98,000 public schools and 500,000 child care facilities not regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). These unregulated schools and child care facilities may or may not be conducting voluntary drinking water quality testing, and could result in exposure to lead, causing significant health concerns for both children and adult occupants.

To help school facilities prevent against disease, NSF International has published an easy-to-use consumer guide to water filters that have been tested and certified by NSF International to reduce lead in drinking water.

This guide also explains the NSF standards and the process by which NSF International verifies a filter’s ability to reduce lead in drinking water.

The guide lists the water filters certified by NSF International for lead reduction along with the proper replacement cartridge (element) that should be used with each system. It includes information about the different types of NSF-certified water filtration systems to help consumers know which system best fits their home or business.

Additionally, the guide includes information about the importance of replacing filter cartridges (elements) and NSF International’s robust testing and certification process. The guide will be updated when new products have been certified. The link to the guide can be found here: http://www.nsf.org/info/leadfiltrationguide.

NSF International would like to remind everyone using NSF certified water filters that it is important to change the filter regularly, according to the manufacturer’s recommended filter capacity, in order for the filters to continue to reduce lead and other contaminants for which they are certified.