Senate bill would require a filter in school drinking water

It is important to Joe Stolz that water is filtered through bottles before his daughter Brooklyn ever drinks it.

“We filter all of our water,” Stolz said, “just to make sure there’s nothing extra in it we don’t want.”

It is extra toxins like lead that some Florida lawmakers fear might be in your child’s water at school. Senate Bill 66 could eliminate those chances.

The bill would require public schools to filter drinking water at buildings built before 1986. If passed, schools would have to post a list online of drinking water sources in the school, when the filter was installed and when it will be replaced.

The costs would vary by school district, but the filters can range between $60 to $500 a piece. If Senate Bill 66 is passed, it would go into effect July 1.

We reached out to districts in Southwest Florida to find out how many schools would fall under these requirements.

The School District of Charlotte County has five schools built prior to 1986. The School District of Collier County has 20. The School District of Lee County has 40 but told WINK News they work with local utilities to test the water for harmful toxins.

Although Dr. Annette St. Pierre-Mackoul has not seen many cases in Southwest Florida, she said lead poisoning can lead to significant issues, especially in younger children.

“As far as their speech their language, their motor skills or fine motor skills, every area of development,” Dr. Pierre-Mackoul said.