City, province reckon with report of high lead levels

Steve Wolfson lives in the Cathedral area in Regina and is raising two young grandkids, which is one of the reasons he was so concerned when a test of his tap water came back with lead levels about 10 times the acceptable limit.

“I really thought our water was safe; I mean, that was the message I was getting from the city. I remember, quite a long time ago, when they put in a filtration plant to take care of some of the odour and taste problems, they said, ‘You have safe water.’ So I would assume that meant there’s not lead, so I was surprised,” said Wolfson.

A national investigation found that cities across Canada have elevated lead levels in their water, including Regina, Saskatoon, and Moose Jaw.

Wolfson had his water tested after he got a letter from the City of Regina. He said it told him the city was offering a voluntary water test but didn’t say that there might be lead in his water.

When the test results came back so high, he had filters put on his taps. This past summer, the City of Regina replaced the water lines going into the property Wolfson rents, but he’s still concerned — he said he doesn’t know if he’s getting clean water or not because no more testing has been done.

Pat Wilson, the City of Regina’s director of water, waste, and environmental services, was quick to explain that the problem isn’t with the city’s water supply — it’s tested as per drinking water regulations.

“The city’s water is safe and clean, and the water in the mains is absolutely safe and clean. We test it routinely through the year. When it goes through the lead lines, it may leach that lead,” explained Wilson.

She said it’s a problem with lead pipes, either lead service pipes on the city’s side (only five per cent of the system) or lead pipes on the homeowners’ private property side of things.

The City of Regina has been aware of elevated lead levels for a while. It has run a program since 2017, testing people’s water and offering a year of free water filters when the levels come back high. It also has been replacing lead service pipes since before that.

The city has only been testing in areas which have city-side lead service lines though, so it only knows about those areas. It sent out about 3,600 letters to people about the situation, inviting them to get their water tested.

“There are some individual homes (built) even into the (1960s) and a little later that may have a private side lead service connection but would not have lead on the city side,” said Wilson.

Anyone who has a lead service line, either on the private side of the system or on the city side, can call the city and have one of two different tests done for lead, then the city will send it to the provincial lab for results.

Wilson said the results in one home on a block don’t necessarily mean it will be the same for neighbours.

The city wasn’t able to provide information by publication on which neighbourhoods are affected, how many homes in the city might have higher levels of lead, or information about the levels of lead found in homes.

Wilson said the city has been focusing on educating the public on the filter program, but it is looking to accelerate replacing the lead lines. In 2019 the number of lines replaced increased by nearly half of the number replaced in 2017, but Wilson said at the current rate it would take 20 to 25 years for all of them to be replaced.

Provincial responsibility

Greg Ottenbreit, the minister responsible for the Water Security Agency, also made a point of saying that the water supplies in Saskatchewan are safe and clean, and that the problem is with lead service lines.

Minister Greg Ottenbreit (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

“The supply is good, the distribution is good. It’s at the home,” said Ottenbreit.

However, it doesn’t appear there will be any new money coming from the province to tackle the problem. Ottenbreit said the provincial government has put $430 million or so over the past 10 years directly into about 900 water and infrastructure projects in Saskatchewan, and he also mentioned revenue-sharing money that municipalities can put into anything they deem necessary.

Ottenbreit did say the province is putting pressure on the federal government to allow Saskatchewan to use infrastructure money earmarked for transit for other things.

When it comes to other solutions in the meantime, like possible corrosion control, Ottenbreit said that’s a conversation that would have to be had with municipalities.

The NDP’s Trent Wotherspoon, the party’s critic for municipal relations, called the provincial government’s response to the problem concerning and disappointing.

“Certainly it’s incumbent of the provincial government to step up and ensure an assessment, working in partnership with municipalities and health, to provide the public the information that they deserve on this front, and ultimately making sure that we have safe drinking water for people right across our province,” Wotherspoon said.

Wotherspoon said he was concerned that ministers during Question Period were speaking as though there was nothing wrong on the city side of things. He said he expected a more constructive response from the government.

“Saskatchewan people deserve answers and assurances that their water is safe, so to see the Sask. Party shirk its responsibility to ensure safe drinking water in the cities and communities within our province here today, in the face of very concerning reported levels of lead, is just extremely disappointing and we expect so much better, as I think all Saskatchewan people would, of their government,” said Wotherspoon.

Wotherspoon said, ultimately, safe drinking water is incredibly important, and the province has a role to play and should be a key partner in finding a solution to the problem.

Wolfson, whose home had such high levels of lead at one point, agreed that there’s a role for the provincial government to play. He suggested a law that requires a landlord to get their tap water tested and to tell new renters coming in.

“I don’t think it’s right,” he said. “I think the province does have a responsibility to make some sort of legislation that protects the children and other people that are drinking that water, to make sure that the water is tested and that people know about it.”

Everyone speaking about the story on Monday and the interest it had garnered said it was a good thing the information had come to light. They noted it would raise awareness about the problem and possibly more people will have testing done and then install filters.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been amended to reflect the acceptable limits for lead in tap water.)