With another school showing high levels of lead in drinking water, testing so far confirms that 32 of 40 schools in N.W.T. have elevated levels of lead, that’s 80 per cent.
School water testing results were announced for two more schools in the territory with one school in Délı̨nę showing elevated levels of lead.
A message from the GNWT read that at the Ɂehtseo Ayha School, water from eight of the 31 fixtures tested above Health Canada Guidelines for lead. According to the message, none of the of the 31 fixtures had copper levels above the guidelines.
According to the Wednesday evening message, water samples from Charles Tetcho School in Sambaa K’e did not show levels of lead above the guidelines.
Earlier this month, testing at ten school building sites in the N.W.T. showed elevated levels of lead present in water samples taken from some drinking taps. Some of the water samples at schools also showed elevated copper levels.
The territorial government reported that the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer issued a Public Health Order for the school on Wednesday.
A message from GNWT read that taps at the school are officially “out of service with alternative drinking water provided “where it is not already in place.”
Officials said follow-up testing will be conducted once corrective measures are complete. Follow-up testing will be used to assess whether the water meets Canada’s drinking water guidelines, read the GNWT’s message.
Officials added that the use of the affected fixtures can only resume once new safety systems are in place.
Remediation measures for the affected water fixtures could include replacing fixtures or installing filters. More information about remediation measures will be added to the school drinking water webpage.
“Effective immediately, some affected water fixtures at Ɂehtseo Ayha School will be out of service, and an alternative drinking water source will be provided, where it is not already in place. The school will also be required to flush some affected fixtures for three minutes each morning before use. Those sinks will remain in service with the flushing protocol in place until mitigation measures are completed.”
Two officials from the department of Infrastructure have said the N.W.T. plans to look at testing more public buildings including health care centres and hospitals, once school testing is completed.
A couple of weeks ago, Celeste MacKay, Assistant Deputy Minister, Asset Management and Robin Ferguson, Acting Assistant Deputy Minister at the Department of Infrastructure reported the GNWT plans to look at testing more public buildings once school testing is completed.
This would include hospitals and health care centres along with other public facilities which have not been tested to date.
“Prioritization testing efforts will continue to be based on factors such as typical age of occupants and use type, the age of the facility, and the potential exposure risk if elevated concentrations of lead are detected,” said MacKay.
“No timelines have been set for when testing in other facilities may begin,” added MacKay.
North Now reached out for more information and will share those details when they become available.
With the majority of school sites showing elevated levels of lead, the GNWT’s department of Infrastructure said the contamination is rooted in plumbing infrastructure.
“In NWT context, the primary source of lead in school drinking water is understood to be plumbing in the buildings including brass fixtures (pre-2014) and older pipe solder (pre-1990). Certified low-lead plumbing fixtures came into effect in Canada in 2014, requiring brass fitting to have a weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead content for drinking water systems. Older materials were allowed up to 8% lead content,” said MacKay.
“Pipe solder containing lead was officially banned in 1986, but published in the 1990 National Plumbing Code. This provided time to ensure stock was removed from the supply chain. Pipe solder may still contain 0.2% lead content, and under certain conditions, could result in lead leaching,” added MacKay.
MacKay reported that water from water treatment plants has not shown “any exceedance” in lead levels for any of the communities in the N.W.T. Water treatment plants in communities across the N.W.T. are tested annually, but MacKay said they were also tested in tandem with the school sites.
“During school water testing, samples of water representative of municipal supply are taken, and have so far indicated no lead.”
