Governor Josh Shapiro Directs $120 Million for Lead Water Pipe Removal in Pennsylvania Schools

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority (PENNVEST) announced on Monday the distribution of $120 million in state clean water grants to excavate and replace lead service connection pipes, remediate interior lead-soldered plumbing, and install over 6,000 point-of-use certified lead filtration bottle filling stations across 450 public school facilities throughout Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, and Scranton.

The statewide remediation program addresses older public school facilities constructed before the 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act lead plumbing ban, eliminating lead neurotoxin exposure risks for more than 320,000 elementary and secondary students.

Total Remediation Architecture for School Drinking Water The $120 million PENNVEST allocation funds:

• Service Line Excavation and Replacement: $65 million for trenchless vacuum excavation replacing legacy municipal lead service laterals with solid copper water mains.
• Interior Plumbing and Valve Abatement: $35 million replacing legacy brass fixtures, lead-soldered copper joints, and galvanized drinking fountains in older school buildings.
• Filtered Bottle Refill Stations & Testing: $20 million installing 6,000 automated bottle filling stations with digital filter life monitors and supporting mandatory annual ICP-MS laboratory water testing.

"Every child in Pennsylvania deserves to learn in a safe, healthy environment, and that begins with knowing that the water coming out of the school water fountain is clean and free of dangerous lead," Governor Josh Shapiro said during an announcement at an elementary school in Philadelphia. "By directing $120 million in state PENNVEST grants directly to our school districts, we are fixing legacy plumbing, protecting our kids' health, and getting stuff done for the Commonwealth."

Pediatric health advocates, teachers' unions, and school board directors commended the comprehensive funding, emphasizing that 100% state grant coverage ensures under-resourced urban and rural school districts do not need to redirect instructional classroom budgets toward emergency plumbing repairs.