While a school in Jean Marie River is in the clear, a school in Wrigley has tested positive for elevated lead levels in one water fixture.
Chief Julian Yendo School and Community Gym in Wrigley showed elevated lead in drinking water.
With 27 tested school results announced to date, 22 sites in the N.W.T. have tested positive for elevated levels of lead in some of their drinking water fixtures.
“Testing has confirmed that one water fixture shows lead levels above the Maximum Allowable Concentration (MAC) in Chief Julian Yendo School. As a result, the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) has issued a Public Health Order for that facility,” read the message issued today by the GNWT.
The affected water fixture at Chief Julian Yendo school will require flushing before future use.
According to the advisory issued today, the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer enacted a Public Health Order for the facility.
The message identified that the following steps are being taken by the GNWT in response:
-Identify and implement remediation measures for the affected water fixture, such as replacing fixtures or installing filters.
Officials said they plan to provide more detailed information on remediation measures on the school water testing webpages.
-Once all corrective measures are completed, follow-up testing will be carried out and reported to the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer for health risk assessment.
– Use of affected fixtures will only resume once new safety systems are in place, testing confirms the water meets all health standards, and approval is provided by the OCPHO.
Officials also reported that testing conducted at Louie Norwegian School in Jean Marie River showed that lead levels were within acceptable ranges according to Canada’s guidelines for drinking water.
“Testing has confirmed that all water fixtures show lead levels below the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. No Public Health Order was issued, and the school can use fixtures normally,” read the message.
The testing is part of a comprehensive testing protocol implemented in the fall following a public announcement of high lead levels in two Yellowknife area schools.
Update: The territorial government is planning to review the need for lead testing of public facilities including health care centres on a prioritized basis.
Jeanne Gard, who is the senior communications advisor at the GNWT’s Department of Infrastructure said they plan to do so when testing at the school buildings is complete.
