As governments continue to mandate testing for lead contamination in educational facilities, school districts, facilities managers, school boards, and superintendents must work within limited budgets to address contamination issues, all while being a responsible steward of taxpayer dollars. Some districts have seen estimates for complete infrastructure replacement ranging from $28 - $100 million. In 2015 one school district spent $19.8 million solely to replace or retrofit 48,000 drinking fountains. There is also the added cost of providing bottled water to students until the problems are remedied. One school district spent $1 million during the 2016-17 academic year on bottled water. In 2007 a school district switched entirely to bottled water because replacing lead plumbing was cost prohibitive. 

“At Great Water Tech, we understand the necessity of ensuring the health, well-being, development, and education of our children. We also understand the fiscal restraints school districts operate under and the immense costs related to replacement of infrastructure. This is why we have developed the “Test and Treat” Campaign and are ready to deploy our Folmar™ Pipe Protection system,” said Patrick Rosenstiel, EVP of Sales and Marketing at Great Water Tech. He continued, “We project that a school district operating 80 schools with an enrollment of 50,000 can install Folmar™ Pipe Protection for a fraction of what it costs to provide bottled water, and an infinitely smaller fraction of what a replacement would cost.” These projected numbers are estimates and based off of a district operating 80 schools with 50,000 students:

• Approximately $600,000/year/district for Folmar™ Pipe Protection including hardware, product, maintenance, and compliance, or;
• $1 million/year for bottled water and associated environmental costs, or;
• $28 - $108 million for complete replacement of pipes, fixtures, connections, faucets, and water fountains

Wolf Merker, CEO of Great Water Tech stated, “It takes an extraordinarily large investment of taxpayer dollars for full infrastructure replacement. The implementation of a Folmar™ Pipe Protection system provides an efficient, reliable, tested, and economical option to education stakeholders when they must confront the issue of lead contamination and mitigation.” Mr. Merker continued, “while some replacement may be necessary, Folmar™ Pipe Protection provides a timely solution to allow for decision makers to create a plan to assess and fund implementation of long-term, strategic, capital projects.”

Folmar™ Pipe Protection is a silicate-based corrosion and scale inhibitor for drinking water systems. It has extensive use history in Europe and other places dating back to 1984. Folmar™ Pipe Protection is non-toxic, biologically inert, mineral-based, and replaces phosphates. It can be added to the water anywhere in the system with full downstream effect. Folmar™ Pipe Protection is effective on all metal surfaces, including residential plumbing and appliances, and additionally protects concrete surfaces of liners, clearwells, and other reservoirs, when used system-wide. 

To learn more, visit http://greatwatertech.com/.