Thanks to legislation Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law early this year, schools and licensed child car facilities will have to test their drinking water for lead by July 1.

Our questions are: Why, in the year 2018, does it take a law for schools to make sure children are not drinking lead? Shouldn’t schools have already been doing this testing?

Information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that even low levels of lead in the blood of children can result in lower IQ, hyperactivity, hearing problems and anemia.

“As a former pediatric neurosurgeon, I’ve seen the negative impact lead exposure can have on a child’s developing brain,” U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson said last week.

Considering the Nashua School District features some fairly old buildings, it is possible there could be some lead in the pipes.

In the aftermath of the water crisis that took place in Flint, Michigan a few years ago, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services gave a recommendation that schools across the state voluntarily test for lead in the drinking water available to students. Nashua Deputy Health Officer/Laboratory Director Ren Beaudoin said he tested the water in all of the public schools.

“Over a four-week period, I went out every morning and we tested and fully prepared 174 samples in our 17 schools,” Beaudoin told our reporter.

Although no serious issues were identified at the time, this does not guarantee there will not be problems in the future.

We are glad testing for lead in the water of New Hampshire schools will now be required, rather than voluntary. We hope the results do not indicate a problem, but it is better to make sure than to take the risk.