A University of Iowa research team has won funding to expand testing for lead in drinking water across Iowa.

Get the Lead Out is a statewide program that tests lead amounts in drinking water. The initiative is led by David Cwiertny, William D. Ashton Professor of Civil Engineering in the College of Engineering and director of the University of Iowa’s Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination. 

“Families across Iowa deserve straightforward, honest information about their drinking water,” Cwiertny says. “Our goal is to collect reliable data to make real progress, so every child in Iowa grows up with safe, lead-free water.”

Get the Lead Out was created in 2019 after researchers identified testing gaps in Iowa stemming from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead and Copper Rule, which required public water systems to monitor lead levels and act if limits were exceeded. 

The researchers found that despite federal monitoring requirements, only about 0.5% of the 1.15 million households connected to public water systems in Iowa were sampled each year.

The Get the Lead Out program provides testing kits for households to sample their water, focusing on homes built before 1986, those with children under age 6, or with pregnant women, who can be more vulnerable to lead exposure. Researchers collect and analyze water samples, and advise how to reduce lead exposure, such as flushing taps before drinking or cooking. 

The new funding will allow Get the Lead Out to expand its capacity by adding staff and supplies to meet increased demand from Iowa homeowners stemming from updated federal rules. In 2024, the EPA passed the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements, an update to the original regulations. The new policy requires public water utilities to identify, document, and eventually replace lead pipes, while also alerting residents of potential risks. 

With the new funding, program administrators will be able to conduct at least 1,200 more tests over the next year, work with high-risk communities — which may be more exposed to water with elevated lead levels — and provide faster test results. The program also will provide more timely, easy-to-understand information to residents about their water quality and how to reduce lead exposure. 

The one-year award from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust is for $124,353.