How Safe is Your Child’s Drinking Water?

New Hampshire parents can now easily access information about the lead levels in drinking water at their child’s school or child care in any part of the state.

A new web dashboard built by NH GRANIT, which is part of UNH, provides a user-friendly interface for anyone to view lead levels in drinking water at these kid-focused facilities, along with the remediation steps that have been taken to address levels that exceed the  program action level of 5 parts per billion (ppb). The dashboard, which was recently upgraded, is part of the N.H. Get the Lead Out of Drinking Water program established by the N.H. Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) to protect school-aged children from the harmful effects of lead exposure.

“Developing this dashboard was a great way to do something that benefits communities across the state” says Rebecca Bannon, NH GRANIT project director. “Parents can go and find out the info they need, and schools can be transparent about the results and any changes they’re making to protect kids.”

In collaboration with the NHDES Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau, Bannon recently developed a StoryMap to provide more context to the project and help users navigate the dashboard. It also provides links to the state resources that inform schools on program enrollment and funding access, she notes.

Lead is a naturally occurring element, but it’s not often found in the sources of our drinking water. Instead, it typically shows up in drinking water when a building’s plumbing fixtures, pipes or the solder connecting the pipes start wearing away. Lead is very harmful to human health, and particularly so for young children because they absorb more lead and are more sensitive than adults to its damaging effects on the brain and central nervous system. Lead doesn’t make water taste, look, or smell different, so the only way to tell if there is lead in water is through water testing. New Hampshire law RSA 485:17-a requires all public and nonpublic schools and licensed child care programs to sample for lead in drinking water at outlets where water is available for consumption by children. Facilities are required to conduct testing for three rounds, which are to be conducted six months apart. NHDES also has grant funding available to assist facilities with reducing lead in drinking water.

NH GRANIT is New Hampshire’s statewide geographic information system (GIS) clearinghouse and is part of UNH’s Earth Systems Research Center. One of its foundations is its collaboration with state agencies like NHDES, the Department of Transportation, and other bureaus, says David Justice, NH GRANIT’s former director. Justice worked on developing the dashboard over the past few years and says the project has been a satisfying one “because of the obvious benefits the application provides to the New Hampshire community, while also helping to spotlight NH GRANIT’s ability to collaborate with and support the state’s agencies and citizens.

Bannon explains that NH GRANIT was uniquely poised to collaborate on this dashboard because the team could leverage their software and technical expertise to create a successful product that is useful and benefits everyone.

“We are always looking for ways to serve New Hampshire citizens,” she adds.