Dear School Representative,

Under Maryland law, all public, charter, and nonpublic schools serving students in Pre-Kindergarten through grade 12 that receive drinking water from a public utility are required to periodically test all their drinking water outlets for the presence of lead in the water on a State-established three-year cycle, unless a waiver from future testing has been granted.  More information on this initiative is available on MDE's web page.

NOTE: This law does not apply to schools that have their own individual wells (i.e., non-transient non-community water systems) and are currently testing for lead in the drinking water under the federal Lead and Copper Rule (LCR).

As required by the State regulations (COMAR 26.16.07.11), the results of all lead samples collected from schools that receive drinking water from a public utility must be submitted to State and local agencies (MDE, MSDE, MDH, and the local Health Department) within 30 days of the samples being analyzed by the laboratory.  

Please be informed that in order to be included in the 2021 report to the Governor, the results of all lead samples collected from your school(s) during the 2020-2021 school year must be reported by October 15, 2021.  The 2021 annual report to the Governor is due December 1, 2021, and will include lead samples collected between July 2, 2020, and July 1, 2021.

The results of samples collected between July 2, 2020, and July 1, 2021, and all supporting documentation must be submitted to:

testresults.leadschoolwater@maryland.gov

Please be sure to include all of the following documentation in order to complete the submission:

• Laboratory Results Reporting Form (EDD) - must be in MS Excel (.xls or .xlsx) format, not PDF format

• Lead Water Sample Collection Form

• Official Laboratory Analysis Report signed by the Laboratory Director -- (see example here)

• School Floor Plan (with locations of outlets identified with unique Outlet IDs) -- (see example here)

• Lead Water Sample Summary Certification Form (only required for each complete round of standard/routine testing)

The forms may be accessed by clicking on the links above and can also be found on MDE's web page.  Since forms are continually being updated, clicking on the above links and/or locating the forms on MDE's web page will ensure that schools are using the most recent version of the State forms.  It is important to note that MDE's web page will always have the updated versions of forms, so please refer to MDE's web page prior to completing and/or submitting any form.  For additional information and requirements related to these forms, please refer to the 'Reporting Documents' section on pages 2 and 3 of Testing Requirements and Related Documents.

We appreciate your efforts to meet the requirements of Maryland law and regulations.  Please contact the Water Supply Program’s Lead in Drinking Water Division via email at reporting.leadschoolwater@maryland.gov or phone at 410-537-3729 with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Christina Ardito