$50 million in Filter First clean drinking water grants

EGLE awards $50 million in Filter First clean drinking water grants for schools and childcare centers

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) today awarded $50 million in grant funding to schools across the state for the installation of bottle-filling stations, faucet-mount filters, filtered water pitchers, and replacement cartridges to protect students from lead under the Michigan Filter First law approved by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in October 2023.

The $50 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding will go to 612 public school districts, public school academies, and nonpublic schools. Grant funding will also benefit 122 childcare centers.

The grant funding will reimburse schools for the costs associated with complying with the Filter First law requiring licensed childcare centers and K-12 public and nonpublic schools to furnish drinking water to children that filters for lead. Childcare centers must comply with the new law by October 2025 and schools by June 2026.

A list of awardees, amount, and use of funds is posted on the EGLE website: Filter First – Healthy Hydration Grant Application.

Building on the success of Michigan’s strictest-in-the-nation Lead and Copper Rule aimed at eliminating lead in public water supplies, the bipartisan legislation collectively known as Filter First encompasses the Clean Drinking Water Access Act (2023 PA 154) and amendments to the Regulation of Childcare Organizations (1973 PA 116) to create the first-of-its-kind legislation specifically designed to protect children from exposure to lead in drinking water in schools and childcare centers.

Under the new legislation, schools must develop a drinking water management plan (DWMP), install lead-reducing filters on all drinking water fixtures and test filtered water annually. Childcare centers must follow the same protocols and test their water every two years.

Additional information about Michigan’s strictest-in-the-nation lead testing requirements and strategies to reduce lead exposures in the home can be found on the state’s Mi Lead Safe web site.