WIIN Grant: Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program
EPA Announces Funding for States to Reduce Lead in Drinking Water at Schools and Child Care Facilities
On June 13, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is announcing a total of $26 million in funding for states and territories to address lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities. Since 2018, EPA has provided over $200 million to help reduce exposure to lead in drinking water where children learn and play.
“Lead is a neurotoxin that can negatively impact American children. With $26 million in funding this year, more schools will be able to identify sources of lead in their water and take action so that our nation’s children can focus on learning, playing, and developing skills that will maximize their potential and make our nation stronger,” said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
EPA will allocate grant funding to states and territories through the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program. Total allotment amounts for each of the 50 states, DC, and four territories can be found below. Tribal allotments for this program will be released separately.
The EPA is committed to protecting children and communities across America from lead in drinking water. In addition to this grant program, EPA’s Training, Testing, and Taking Action program (3Ts) provides information and recommendations to help states and local authorities build voluntary programs to reduce lead in drinking water. Since 2019, this effort has helped over 20,000 child care facilities and nearly 13,000 schools have their water tested for lead with over 1,300 child care facilities and 2,500 schools completing remediation work.
With the help of this grant, Texas has sampled approximately 97% of the approximately 1,552 school and child care facilities they planned to test. This success is thanks to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s free program to conduct voluntary sampling and analysis for lead in drinking water. In Colorado, their Test and Fix Water for Kids program has protected approximately 600,000 children from lead exposure in drinking water. New Hampshire leads the country with 360 schools with replaced drinking water apparatus. Remediation actions were taken on an additional 80 child care facilities.
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Background
The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act established the Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Drinking Water grant in 2016 to award funding to states, territories, and tribes to assist local and tribal educational agencies in voluntary testing for lead contamination in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, enacted in November 2021, amended the grant program to the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program and allowed grant funding for lead remediation in addition to testing.
Grants will be awarded non‐competitively to states, territories, and tribes. For the purposes of this grant program, the term “state” is used to describe the fifty states, District of Columbia, and the territories, including: Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The grantee must utilize EPA’s 3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities guidance when implementing the program to test and remediate for lead in drinking water in schools and child care facilities. Grantees, alternatively, may use their own applicable existing state programs or regulations that are no less stringent in the following basic elements:
- Communication - should be integrated throughout the development and implementation of the lead testing in drinking water in school and child care program. Communication should establish key partnerships to support the program as well as keeping the public informed.
- Training - school officials to raise awareness of the potential occurrences, causes and health effects of lead in drinking water. Utilize established partnerships to develop program plans and to assign responsibilities that provide the framework for an effective program.
- Testing - drinking water in schools and child care facilities to identify potential problems utilizing existing states guidance for testing or when not established utilizing 3Ts guidance for testing.
- Taking Action – by developing and implementing a plan to reduce lead in drinking water and communicate to parents, staff, and the larger school community.
To learn more about these elements, please visit https://www.epa.gov/safewater/3Ts
Eligible Applicants
The grant program is a noncompetitive voluntary program. Eligibility to apply for and receive funds under the grant program is limited to the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and territories, and tribes within the U.S. Please see below for information on the tribal grant program.
Available Funding
EPA awards funding to states based on an allocation formula that includes factors such as population, including a set-aside for tribal allotments. The document below includes information on the most up-to-date funding allotment for the voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction grant program.
FY2025 National Allotments for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Remediation Grant Program (pdf)
Eligible Projects
Grant funding is awarded to provide assistance for lead testing and remediation in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.
For additional information, please reference the following documents:
Implementation document for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program:
Lead Testing in Schools Implementation Document Updated for FY2025 (pdf)
Lead Testing in Schools Implementation Document Updated for FY2023 (pdf)
Lead Testing in Schools Implementation Document Updated for FY2020 (pdf)
A sample workplan states can use to facilitate content development of their respective plans for implementation:
Timeline
In August, 2024, EPA informed states of their available FY 2024 allotments for the grant program. Prior to applying for their allotments, states must submit draft workplans to their respective EPA Region. Please check with your Regional EPA contact for application deadlines: Regional Contacts
When reviewing the draft workplans, EPA Regions must be able to determine that activities conform to all applicable requirements of the grant. Participating states must submit their final application package to grants.gov. Participating states are encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible. EPA Regional offices are the primary points of contact to approve grant applications and award funding.
Each fiscal year’s funding should be obligated by the state no later than two years from the beginning of the project period. It is anticipated that project/budget periods will be no more than four years.
How to Apply
EPA Regions will initiate contact with states to inform them of the program and the application process. States should then contact their EPA Regional representative to submit applications via grants.gov.
Training and Resources
Best Management Practices Workshops
These workshops brought oversight agencies (states, territories, and tribal consortia) participating in the lead testing program. The workshops presented program accomplishments, challenges, lessons learned, and best management practices for implementing a lead testing and reduction program in drinking water at schools and child care facilities.
The following document presents case studies and best management practices to implement successful lead testing and reduction programs in schools and child care facilities:
Best Management Practices Document (pdf)
The following are presentations and videos from the best management practices workshops:
November 2022 workshop:
May 2022 workshop:
Video recording: https://youtu.be/TgMs8rs5sHE
Frequently Asked Questions
Please refer to the following document for responses to frequently asked questions.
FAQ for Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program (pdf)
Grant Program Data
Learn more about progress and accomplishments of the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program.
The factsheet below highlights progress under the EPA Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant and 3Ts - Training, Testing, and Taking Action programs from 2019 through 2024.
By the Numbers - Reducing Lead Exposure to Children in Drinking Water (pdf)
Historical Funding
The funding allocations are in the form of assistance agreements. The memos below include past funding allotments for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program. They include the breakdown for state allotments as well as the total amount available to support tribal water systems.
Allotments for FY2024 appropriations for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program:
Allotments for FY2022 and FY2023 appropriations for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program:
FY2022/2023 National Allotments for the Voluntary Lead Testing Program (pdf)
Allotments of the FY2021 Appropriations for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program:
FY2021 National Allotments for the Voluntary Lead Testing Program (pdf)
Allotments of the FY2020 Appropriations for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program:
FY2020 National Allotments for the Voluntary Lead Testing Program (pdf)
Allotments of the FY18/19 Appropriations for the Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program:
FY18/19 National Allotments for the Voluntary Lead Testing Program (pdf)
Build America, Buy America (BABA) Act
Overview
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ("IIJA") includes the Build America, Buy America Act ("the Act"). The Act strengthens Made in America Laws and will bolster America’s industrial base, protect national security, and support high-paying jobs. The Act requires that no later than May 14, 2022, the head of each covered Federal agency shall ensure that “none of the funds made available for a Federal financial assistance program for infrastructure, including each deficient program, may be obligated for a project unless all of the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States.”
The Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Made in America Office released its guidance for implementing the Build America, Buy America Act. In regards to grant funding, OMB is proposing to revise the current OMB Guidance for Grants and Agreements. The proposed amendments are intended to provide guidance and clarify requirements for the manufactured products content test and non-ferrous construction materials. Public comments were due March 13, 2023.
Webinar presentations
- Build America, Buy America Act Implementation Webinar Presentation (April 2022) (pdf) (1.35 MB)
- Build America, Buy America Act Office of Water Implementation Procedures Webinar (November 2022) (pdf) (3.61 MB)
The Drinking Water Grants Program team is working to standardize and implement the process to support grant recipients with the BABA requirements and how to request/apply for a waiver if they are eligible. In that effort, we have established a grant inbox for the purpose of questions and eventually receiving waiver requests. Please do not hesitate to reach out to the grants team points of contact at HQ or send your questions/requests to BABA-DrinkingWaterGrants@epa.gov
Contact Information
To find your state's Regional contact, please visit EPA Regional Contacts
For general information, please contact WIINDrinkingWaterGrants@epa.gov
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