California lead-in-water testing for schools & childcare

Applies to

both

Action level

15 ppb

Frequency

Schools: testing required by July 1, 2019 (one-time under AB 746). Child care centers: tested 2020-2023, then every 5 years.

State agency

State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water (DDW)

State program

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/programs/

Official source

https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/drinking_water/certlic/drinkingwater/leadsamplinginschools.html

DDW (State Water Board) holds SDWA primacy (transferred from CDPH in 2014). AB 746 (2017) required lead testing at K-12 public schools; AB 2370 (2018) requires licensed child care centers in pre-2010 buildings to test for lead.

Find a certified lab in California

PATHWAY TO FIND A CERTIFIED LAB FOR LEAD-IN-DRINKING-WATER TESTING How drinking water lab certification works (VERIFIED, EPA): - Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, STATES hold primacy and run the certification of laboratories that analyze drinking water. Public water systems must use a state-certified lab, and EPA approves the analytical methods while states manage the certification process itself. EPA does NOT test residential/commercial water on request, and does not run a single national "find a lab" search for drinking water; it routes you to your state program. (Source: epa.gov/dwlabcert; epa.gov/lead/can-i-get-my-water-tested-lead) - EPA's own lead-in-water guidance states: testing is the only reliable way to detect lead (you cannot see/taste/smell it), and "A list of certified laboratories are available from your state or local drinking water authority or on EPA's website." STEP-BY-STEP PATHWAY: 1. Start at EPA's directory of state certification programs (the primary, authoritative entry point): https://www.epa.gov/dwlabcert/contact-information-certification-programs-and-certified-laboratories-drinking-water . This page links to a PDF and to each state's drinking-water lab certification program and contacts. 2. Use the EPA PDF "State Certification Programs Certify Laboratories to Conduct Drinking Water Analyses": https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-03/state-cert-programs-certify-labs-to-conduct-drinking-water-analyses.pdf 3. Contact your STATE drinking-water program (or local water authority) to obtain its current list of state-certified labs and ensure the lab is certified for LEAD in drinking water specifically. NATIONAL LOCATORS (cross-state lab search tools), use to confirm/locate accredited labs, then verify state certification: - TNI/NELAP "LAMS" (National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Management System): searchable by lab name, TNI lab code, location, state, and accreditation body; covers environmental matrices including DRINKING WATER. Search: https://lams.nelac-institute.org/search . NELAP accreditation is delivered through state/AB accreditation bodies (e.g., FL, IL, KS, LA, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OK, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA). NELAP Accreditation Bodies list: https://nelac-institute.org/content/NELAP/accred-bodies.php - A2LA (American Association for Laboratory Accreditation): Directory of Accredited Organizations, searchable by organization/scope, including environmental/water testing scopes. Directory: https://customer.a2la.org/index.cfm?event=directory.index CRITICAL ACCURACY CAVEAT, do NOT use NLLAP for water: EPA's National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP) accredits labs ONLY for lead in PAINT CHIPS, DUST WIPES, and SOIL, NOT drinking water. Do not present NLLAP (epa.gov/lead/national-lead-laboratory-accreditation-program-list) as a locator for lead-in-WATER labs. NLLAP recognizes accrediting bodies AIHA-LAP, A2LA, Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, ANAB/ACLASS, and International Accreditation Service. Note A2LA appears in both contexts (paint/dust/soil via NLLAP AND, separately, environmental water testing via its general accreditation), so always check the lab's specific scope/matrix. BOTTOM-LINE GUIDANCE FOR SCHOOLS/CHILDCARE: Use a lab that is certified BY YOUR STATE for lead in drinking water. Begin at the EPA state-certification directory, then verify via TNI LAMS or A2LA. Confirm the lab's scope explicitly covers lead in drinking water (not paint/dust/soil).

• California drinking-water lab certification
• EPA, Contact Information for Certification Programs and Certified Laboratories for Drinking Water (state programs directory), Primary authoritative entry point. Links to each STATE drinking-water lab certification program and contacts; states certify labs to test drinking water (incl. lead). Use this first.
• EPA, State Certification Programs PDF (state-by-state lab certification links), EPA PDF listing each state's drinking-water lab certification program; companion to the directory page above.
• TNI/NELAP LAMS, National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Management System, National searchable directory of NELAP-accredited environmental labs (search by name, lab code, location, state, accreditation body); covers drinking water matrices. Verify the lab's lead-in-drinking-water scope and confirm state certification.
• TNI, NELAP Accreditation Bodies list, List of state/AB accreditation bodies that grant NELAP accreditation (e.g., FL, IL, KS, LA, MN, NH, NJ, NY, OK, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA).
• A2LA, Directory of Accredited Organizations, Searchable directory of A2LA-accredited testing labs and their scopes (includes environmental/water testing). Check the specific scope/matrix for lead in drinking water.
• EPA, National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program (NLLAP) list (PAINT/DUST/SOIL ONLY, NOT water), CAUTION: NLLAP accredits labs for lead in PAINT CHIPS, DUST WIPES, and SOIL only, NOT drinking water. Do NOT use as a water-lab locator. Included here to prevent misuse.

For the full federal framework (EPA 3Ts, LCRI action level, WIIN funding), see the lead-in-water overview.

California is among the strictest states: AB 746 (2017) drove lead-in-water testing at older K-12 public schools, and AB 2370 (2018) requires licensed child-care centers in pre-2010 buildings to test. Any lab you use must hold California ELAP accreditation for lead in drinking water, Field of Accreditation 103 (Toxic Chemical Elements), method EPA 200.8. Before shipping samples, confirm the lab's current ELAP certificate still lists the lead (Table 103) line, since accreditation lapses and renews. Collect first-draw samples per EPA's 3Ts, and if you're on a grant or compliance deadline, ask each lab about turnaround up front. The labs below were re-checked against the live ELAP Drinking Water Accredited Laboratories registry.