A pair of drinking fountains, photographed in February 2023, at Sentinel High School in Missoula, Montana, tested for levels of lead that required school officials to either fix the fountains or shut them off. Montana has earmarked $3.7 million to fix widespread high levels of lead in school drinking water, but officials acknowledge it likely isn’t enough to solve the problem. (Katheryn Houghton/KFF Health News)
September 1, 2023
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September 3, 2023 midnight
Funding set aside to address lead found in school water may come up short
Montana’s legislature designated $3.7 million this spring to remove lead from school drinking-water supplies, then the state received $565,000 more on Aug. 1 from the $50 billion federal infrastructure package aiming to improve water systems nationally.