CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Water fountains and locker rooms are the new front lines in the Biden Administration’s ‘Get The Lead Out’ initiative.
The White House came out with a policy statement last week that millions of children are exposed to lead when they go to school. The culprit: older school buildings have lead pipes, and if the students drink from a water fountain, or use the showers in the school locker room, they risk exposure.
What’s noteworthy is that this was the ‘Get the Lead Out’ initiative’s first dispatch to the general public. Last month’s lead water lead dog-and-pony-show at the White House was intended for the 100 or so communities whose leaders were dumb enough to participate. Those leaders, including Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg, are ready to force $10,000 lead pipe retro-fits on homeowners in their cities. And they have no idea how much, or how little, federal aid might be available to cover those costs. That will be revealed at a later date.
Getting parents worried that school drinking water isn’t safe, and trying to get school board to do something about it, is curious.
Perhaps you’ve noticed that almost every school in our area has new drinking fountains. They have a spigot at the top for filling up water bottles, and a spout at the bottom for anyone who wants just a sip of water. We are told that these are “pure filtered” fountains. Do they remove lead? I have no idea. But now I’d like to know. Here’s why: If the lead-in-school water problem, which wasn’t a problem untl the Biden Administration told us it was, can be solved with new water fountains, let’s do it! But what if the edict is that all lead must be removed – even from water that isn’t used for drinking? Well, retrofitting the plumbing on entire school buildings is ridiculously expensive. And again, crickets from Washington about how much federal assistance will be available.
Which brings us to the locker rooms. Student-athletes take a shower after practice. Lead pipes carry the water to the showerhead. Now common sense tells us that high school athletes aren’t suddenly suffering developmental disabilities from lead exposure. Younger kids, at greater risk, don’t take showers at school.
But we may still be told that every lead pipe in every school building must come out. School taxes will be raised, or bonds will be issued to cover the expense. New water fountains be damned.
Chris Conley
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