Ensuring Drinking Water
Quality in Child Care
Facilities During and
After Extended Closures

3Ts: TRAINING, TESTING, TAKING ACTION

Developed in collaboration with the signatory agencies and organizations of the Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) on Reducing Lead Levels in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities: https://www.eDa.gov/
qround-water-and-dririkinq-water/mou-reducinq-lead-levels-drinkinq-water-schools-arid-child-care.
The purpose of this factsheet is to: 1) provide guidance to child
care facilities on maintaining drinking water quality during
extended closures, and 2) recommend start-up procedures
when reopening to ensure that drinking water is safe for
consumption.
When a child care facility closes for an extended period (i.e., one
week to several months), the water in the building's plumbing will
become stagnant. The water may become unsafe for drinking,
cleaning, cooking, or other purposes.
Stagnant water in plumbing may:
Support growth of bacteria, such as Legionella, or other
microorganisms that can cause disease, and
Have higher levels of metals, such as lead and/or copper,
from the building plumbing components.
This factsheet is part of EPA's 37s for
Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools
and Child Care Facilities (3Ts) Toolkit,
referenced in Important Resources. It also
includes considerations for lead sampling
after extended closures. This factsheet
is intended for child care facilities
specializing in early care and education
programs, which include center-based
and family child care homes, pre-
kindergarten programs as weli as Head
Start and Early Head Start Programs.
Additional considerations are included for
home-based child care facilities, child care
facilities that are non-community water
systems (NCWSs), and child care facilities
served by a private well.
INFORMATION ABOUT EXTENDED CLOSURES FOR CHILD CARE
ADMINISTRATORS AND MAINTENANCE STAFF
What can child care facilities do while they are closed to maintain water quality?
Completing the following steps during closures may help to avoid more complicated start-up procedures when
reopening. Many of these steps are routine procedures that should be part of normal operations. Work with the owner
or landlord to ensure proper water system maintenance if you do not own your building. It is important to perform
these steps before using building tap water to reconstitute infant formula
EPA's 3Ts Toolkit Module 6 includes additional information about establishing routine practices. See Important
Resources
Qv
Know Your Plumbing
To maintain water quality, you need to know how water enters and flows through your facility. EPA's 3Ts Toolkit
Module 4 provides examples of building plumbing configurations. Additionally, the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) Water Management Program Toolkit provides guidance on how to understand
and describe your building's water system.
See Important Resources for links to both toolkits.
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f Consider Contacting a Water Professional
The instructions in this factsheet are necessary for the health and safety of children, staff, and other building
occupants. However, they include technical content. Consider speaking with a water professional for
assistance. Visit your water provider's website for more information or contact them to find out if your facility
may be served by a lead service line.
Closures also present a good opportunity to have a qualified plumber inspect the plumbing. For example, a
qualified plumber can:
Help you determine your plumbing configuration,
Ensure that the plumbing is functioning properly
and in good condition,
Confirm that there are no cross-connections
between your drinking water system and water
that is not safe to consume, or non-potable
water,
Check for lead or galvanized service lines, and
Identify any older faucets that are more likely
to contain lead.
ijjjpl Flush Your Plumbing System
Routinely flush all water outlets used for drinking or food
preparation. This is particularly important after weekends
and during long vacations. The longer water has been
sitting in pipes, the more lead it may contain. "Flushing"
involves opening valves and letting faucets run long enough
to remove standing water in the interior pipes and/or the
outlets. It is important to know your plumbing, as described
above, because flushing times vary based on the plumbing
configuration in your facility. EPA's 3Ts Toolkit Module 6
provides flushing best practices and guidance for developing
a flushing plan. In addition, EPA's Guidance on Buildings with
Low or No Use addresses flushing. See Important Resources.
[f=1 Document Actions
c:®
Any steps taken to prevent standing water and maintain water
quality in the child care facility should be documented. This will
help determine if and what steps are needed when reopening.
Documenting actions may also be useful in communicating
actions to parents and staff upon reopening.
Consider Developing a Water
Management Program
CDC provides a toolkit on creating a water management
program (WMP) to reduce the risk of Legionella growth.
Developing a WMP specific to your child care facility can help
maintain drinking water quality in your plumbing system. See
Important Resources
Maintain Water System
Components
Cleaning faucets and drinking water
fountains should be a routine practice
that continues during extended closures.
Refer to your local health department
or licensing agency for more guidance
on appropriate cleaning materials. The
following activities should be conducted
to maintain water system components:
Remove and clean all aerators (or
faucet screens) and drinking water
fountain strainers often and before
flushing,
Replace any worn or damaged
aerators with new ones before
placing them back on outlets after
cleaning or flushing,
Maintain any water treatment
systems in use, which may include
point-of-entry or point-of-use filters
or water softeners,
Maintain filters per manufacturer's
instructions as routine practice (for
more information on selecting filters,
please see EPA's consumer tool
referenced in Important Resources),
and
Keep cold water cold and hot water
hot. CDC recommends keeping water
outside the range for Legionella
growth, which is 77°F to 108°F.
It is important to maintain water
heaters at appropriate temperatures
while following local and state anti-
scald regulations. See Important
Resources for CDC's guidance on
Legionella.
2
Considerations for Home-Based Child Care
Facilities
Many child care facilities are operated within homes. The
procedures for facility closures may not apply if the homeowner
is present during the closure. EPA has guidance on reducing
lead in drinking water at homes. The National Center for Healthy
Housing (NCHH) has a Lead-Safe Toolkit for Home-Based Child
Cares See Important Resources

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EPA and CDC both have guidance on restoring water quality after extended closures. See Important Resources.
What drinking water start-up procedures should child care
facilities conduct when reopening after an extended closure?
Some child care facilities may not be able to conduct the best practices described
above during extended closures to maintain water quality. These facilities should
conduct the following steps to prepare the drinking water system before water is
used by children, staff, and others who occupy the building. Child care facilities
that were able to conduct the best practices described above during extended
closures may not need to conduct all of the following steps. These steps provide
additional precautions when reopening. It is important to perform these steps
prior to using building tap water to reconstitute infant formula.
( Check Local Requirements
Contact your local health department for any steps they
might require before reopening. Your local health department
and water supplier may have information on additional water
testing for bacteria and/or lead.
Conduct Facility-Wide Flushing
Flushing removes stagnant water before anyone drinks it.
The EPA recommends flushing after extended breaks to
maintain or restore water quality. Before flushing, the plumbing
should be inspected, and water treatment systems should be
maintained. Follow the steps in the previous section above:
Know Your Plumbing, Flush Your Plumbing System, and
Maintain Water System Components.
Consider Additional Actions
You should review the potential impact
of poor water quality caused by the
extended closure on children, staff, and
other building occupants. You may want to
consider taking additional actions. These
may include limiting access to certain
outlets, contacting a water professional,
or developing a WMP. Factors to consider
include outlets used for consumption and
past issues with the plumbing system. EPA's
Guidance on Buildings with Low or No Use
and 3Ts Toolkit Module 6 provide guidance
for recommended additional actions. See
Important Resources
[1=1 Document and Communicate Actions
c:®
If any issues arise with the child care facility's water system or water quality communicate with parents, staff, and
other building occupants. You should also consider sharing actions taken to maintain or restore water quality.
CONSIDERATIONS FOR CHILD CARE
FACILITIES THAT ARE N O N-CO M M U N IT Y
WATER SYSTEMS (NCWSs)
A NCWS is a type of public water system that is a building, campus, or
other entity with its own water supply and is regulated (usually by the
state environmental or public health agency). If you pay a water bill or
pay a landlord for water, you are NOT a NCWS.
If your child care facility is a NCWS, contact your state for other
required steps for start-up. This includes disinfecting the water system
and collecting samples for bacteria and disinfectant residual. EPA's
Revised Total Coliform Rule (RTCR) State Implementation Guidance
and Template Factsheets for Primacy Agencies provides examples of
these actions See Important Resources
CONSIDERATIONS
FOR CHILD CARE
FACILITIES SERVED
BY A PRIVATE
WELL
In addition to the activities
described above, child care
facilities served by a private well
may want to consider testing
for bacteria before reopening as
part of the start-up procedures.
EPA provides resources on
private drinking water wells. See
Important Resources
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LEAD SAMPLING CONSIDERATIONS
Water that has been sitting for weeks or months may have higher levels of metals, such as lead and/or
copper from the building plumbing components. The most common sources of lead in drinking water
are lead pipes, faucets, and fixtures.
There is no safe blood lead level in children. The best way to know if there is lead in drinking water
is to test for it. Starting in 2019, states began receiving federal funding under the Water Infrastructure
Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act to conduct a voluntary program to assist with testing for
lead in drinking water at schools and child care facilities. See Important Resources for EPA's WIIN
Lead Testing Grant Program.
Test your water for lead. If you are served by a water utility they may test your water upon
request. You may also contact laboratories certified to test for lead in water. See Important Resources below for
information on how to find these laboratories.
Perform sampling at appropriate locations and times. EPA's 3Ts Toolkit Module 4 recommends collecting
lead samples that represent water typically consumed by children, staff, and other facility occupants. Water that has
been sitting stagnant tor weeks or months (i.e., during extended periods of closure) is not considered representative
of typical drinking water.
Do not conduct sampling immediately after an extended closure or immediately after flushing your
facility's plumbing. These samples would not represent typical water consumption. Ensure that you plan ahead
to sample at an appropriate time before serving water to children, staff, and other facility occupants. EPA's 3Ts
Toolkit Module 5 provides information on lead sampling and understanding results. See Important Resources below.
IMPORTANT RESOURCES (in order of appearance)
This factsheet builds on EPA's continued efforts to provide proactive steps to protect children's health. More
guidance on actions "building water systems" can take to minimize water stagnation during prolonged shut down
of operations can also be found on the EPA and CDC coronavirus websites.
EPA's 3Ts Toolkit for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Schools and Child Care Facilities (Modules 1-7): https://www.epa.
gov/ground-water-and-dr inking-water/3ts-reducing-lead-drinking-water-tool kit
Modules 4, 5, and 6 are referenced in this factsheet. The link provided will bring you to the 3Ts Toolkit homepage where
you can navigate to the 3Ts Manual and the individual modules.
CDC Water Management Program Toolkit: https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/wmp/toolkit/index.html
EPA's Information on Maintaining or Restoring Water Quality in Buildings with Low or No Use: https://www.epa.gov/
coronavirus/informat ion-ma inta in ing-or-restoring-water-quality-bui Id ings-low-or-no-use
EPA's Consumer Tool for Identifying POU Drinking Water Filters Certified to Reduce Lead: https://www.epa.gov/water-
research/consumer-tool-identifying-pou-dr inking-water-fi Iters-certified-reduce-lead
CDC Guidance on Legionella for Building and Healthcare Facilities Owners and Managers: https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/
wmp/overview/growth-and-spread, html
EPA Guidance on Reducing Lead in Drinking Water in Homes: https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/
basic-information-about-lead-dr inking-water#reducehome
National Center for Health Housing Lead-Safe Toolkit for Home-Based Child Care: Lead in Drinking Water: https://nchh.org/
tools-and-data/technical-assistance/protecting-chi Id ren-from-lead-exposures-in-chi Id-care/toolkit/in-drinking-water/
CDC Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown or Reduced Operation: https://www.cdc.gov/
coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/bu ilding-water-system.htm I
EPA's RTCR Implementation Guidance: https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/total-coliforrm-rule-cormpliance-help-prirmacy-
agencies
Template Factsheets for Primacy Agencies (Requirements for Seasonal Systems): https://www.epa.gov/dwreginfo/total-
coliforrm-rule-cormpliance-help-prirmacy-agencies
EPA's Resources on Private Drinking Water Wells: https://www.epa.gov/privatewells
EPA's Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act Lead Testing in School and Child Care Program Grant: http://
www.epa.gov/safewater/grants
EPA's National Accredited Laboratory List: https://www.epa.gov/lead/national-lead-laboratory-accreditation-program-list
Office of Water (4606M)
EPA 810-F-21-003
March 2021

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