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Drinking Water

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Group says Ontario municipalities need to get lead out of drinking water

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An environmental group is calling on Ontario municipalities to take action to remove toxic lead pipes from drinking water systems.

The Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) issued a report today, outlining the dangers associated with partial lead lines in the province.

Since 2007, Ontario municipalities have been required to monitor and reduce lead levels but 26 of them still exceeded the provincial limit in tests.

The report outlines that the best way to reduce lead in municipal water is to remove lead service lines (LSLs).

It notes that although many municipal lead reduction plans feature removal as one of multiple mitigation measures, the vast majority of Ontario municipalities are choosing to make it voluntary for a property owner to replace the LSL on their side of the property line, in which dangerous lead infrastructure can often remain in place.

As a result, CELA is calling on municipalities in Ontario to pass a by-law that prohibits partial LSL replacements and specifies an equity-informed financial support structure for the costs associated with replacement.

“We’re not saying everyone has to drop the money to replace their lead service line right now out of their own pocket,” says community outreach worker Julie Mutis. “This is a public health issue and there should be support to ensure that people who are not in a financial position to do that are adequately supported, especially in places like Thunder Bay and up north where costs can be a little bit higher.”

CELA also wants municipalities to address the harm caused by past partial replacements and set clear policy objectives for eliminating all lead drinking infrastructure.

The report notes that Hamilton is the only Ontario municipality known to have a by-law and policies associated with preventing partial LSL replacements.

“Everyone’s water systems are different and so everyone needs to find a different solution that works for them,” says Mutis. “But the bottom line from this report is that when we are removing lead, we should be moving all of it because there is no safe amount of lead.”

Founded in 1970, CELA is a legal aid clinic dedicated to environmental equity, justice, and health and one of the oldest advocates for environmental protection in the country.

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Feds Pledge Almost $8B For Clean Drinking Water

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The federal government is promising nearly $8-billion to settle class action lawsuits dealing with safe drinking water in First Nations.

Neskantaga First Nation officials were part of the announcement of the Agreement in Principle Friday, alongside Tataskweyak Cree Nation, Curve Lake First Nation, and Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller.

The agreement includes $1.5-billion in compensation for people deprived of clean drinking water, and plans to update Canada’s First Nations drinking water laws.

It would create a $400-million First Nation Economic and Cultural Restoration Fund, and includes a renewed commitment to Canada’s Action Plan for the lifting of all long-term drinking water advisories.

The federal Liberals are promising to support all First Nations to develop their own safe drinking water by-laws and initiatives, and committing at least $6-billion toward reliable access to safe drinking water on reserve.

Neskantaga has been under a boil water advisory since 1995.

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Concern Surrounding Lead In Drinking Water

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A shocking investigation in Ontario recently revealed that 2,400 schools and daycare centres exceeded the normal amounts of lead in drinking water.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath is calling on Doug Ford to take immediate action.

“Will the Premier reverse his cuts and immediately fund the necessary school repairs to get the led out of our children’s water.”

Horwath says “the repair backlog was $15.9-billion under the Liberals and now it stands at $16.3-billion. Hardly surprising since one of the first things this Premier did in office was cut $100 million from school repair budgets.”

Many institutions across northwestern Ontario were well above the provincial and national levels.

Ontario’s Minister of Education Stephen Lecce says his government is allocating $13-billion over the next decade to improve schools in every region of the province.

He adds they are continuing a $1.4-billion allocation to maintain their schools.

In the end, Lecce put the blame on the previous Liberal government saying the PC’s inherited the problem.

Many schools across the region were above the maximum level of lead in drinking water.

Health Canada recommends 5 parts per billion as the maximum acceptable limit for lead concentration in drinking water.

The provincial recommendation is 10 ppb.

According to a Ministry of Environment report, nearly a third of all Ontario schools and daycare centres had at least one test result that was above 5 parts per billion between April 2016 and March 2018.

The former Queen Elizabeth High School in Sioux Lookout was near the top of the list at 85.7% above the threshold.

The Sioux Lookout Access Centre, formerly Wellington Public School, was at 70%.

Ear Falls Public School is listed as 50% above the recommended threshold.

The Ignace school is 25.2% over, St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Dryden 25% above suggested levels, while Dryden High School came in at 19.2%.