Improving Water Quality in Schools and Childcare Facilities During COVID-19

As school buildings begin to open up after the extended shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employees and families are dealing with unprecedented questions about building safety. Water in school buildings is critical to public health protection through hand washing and drinking water. During the shutdown, limited water use can increase the risk of microbial contaminants and corrosion in school building plumbing.

Nancy Love, PhD, will open with a discussion of the known and unknown science around water quality issues after the extended COVID-19 shutdown in schools and childcare facilities around the country. She will present her work in environmental surveillance of L. pneumophila, highlighting risk management strategies to provide safe public water supplies. Dr. Love will also discuss point-of-use (PoU) treatment devices at the tap including faucet-mounted activated carbon block (ACB)-PoU filters and their effectiveness at reducing lead and copper, select organics such as disinfection byproducts, PFAS, and chlorine or chloramine disinfection residuals. She will highlight the potential for significant microbial growth on these devices and strategies that can be used to enhance filter performance and water quality.

Following this presentation, Elin Betanzo, MS, will provide an action oriented practical look at school water quality after this extended shutdown. She will cover the contaminants to look out for (legionella and lead, among others), risk factors, and strategies schools can use to reduce the risk of experiencing water quality issues as students return to school buildings. She will also provide a set of questions that parents can ask their schools to ensure that appropriate steps are being taken to address water quality in schools before and during the return of students.