The Government of the Northwest Territories has announced that the remediation efforts for drinking water at several schools around the territory have been completed.
The Public Health Orders for Joseph Burr Tyrell School and Paul W Kaeser High School in Fort Smith, École St. Joseph School in Yellowknife, Kaw Tay Whee School in Dettah, and Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita have all been lifted.
These orders were put in place when testing revealed lead concentrations in a number of water fixtures in the schools that were above the maximum safe amount. Lead levels are now within Health Canada guidelines.
The GNWT says they are working to develop standard practices for ongoing maintenance, such as filter replacement and routine retesting, to ensure the water in NWT schools remains safe.
Water fixture remediations efforts across the territory are 65% complete, with 22 of the tested sites confirmed to have safe lead levels with 13 more awaiting retesting to confirm the remediation efforts have been successful.
18 sites still require remediation work to be completed, and the GNWT says materials for these efforts have been ordered and will be delivered to the sites over the coming months.
The GNWT assures that safe drinking water, whether from fixtures or alternative sources, is available in all schools across the NWT.
