City to begin mandated testing program for lead in the water
By COLLIN GALLANT on February 23, 2021.
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant City water department will contact residents beginning today to begin a mandated testing program for lead in the water distribution system. That comes 16 months after the province told cities to expand random sampling programs to include pipes and fixtures within buildings following media reports of problems with the toxic heavy metal from across the country. Local notices will go out to about five dozen homes where officials believe lead pipes were in use recently, as well as other randomized notices to test water from the taps, not just points in the city’s own piping system. “The risk is very, very low,” said operations manager Brian Graham in a media briefing. He said a city testing program at random distribution points has been in place for decades. There is no risk of general contamination, he stressed. “The odds are almost insignificant.” In late 2019, the News revealed the province would expand testing to require faucet head collection and testing, and provide results before September 2021. After that point, the province will determine further action, but has said any remediation is required by 2024. Local officials are aware of 63 addresses in Medicine Hat that had lead water service connections from the street mains when they were last checked over the past several decades. Those pipes are owned by and are the responsibility of the property owner, and the department has said they were made aware at the time they were discovered. Graham believes many may have been replaced, but this spring, they will test at each of those addresses. The city requires 80 testing locations to meet random sampling standard, and the remainder will be mostly located in areas of Medicine Hat that saw housing construction during the 1940s and 1950s. During that time, copper was at a premium, and lead was sometimes substituted. Lead pipes and lead-composite fixtures have been banned under federal building codes since the 1980s. Tests will consist of a sample gathered early in the morning, preferably before much water is used. Graham said the process will only take several minutes and city collection workers will adhere to pandemic health protocols at selected residences. Graham said that anyone else in the general public that has concerns can acquire a personal lead testing kit at major hardware retailers. Any problem can be addressed through the use of a specific water filter system that is widely available. Residents can also investigate where pipes from street mains enter their home, likely near the water meter. A lead pipe will be dull grey and black, but will become shiny when etched. Long-term or high levels of exposure to lead can cause serious health and developmental problems. Medicine Hat utilities provides potable water to about 23,000 residences and about 4,000 businesses, plus bulk water deliveries to Cypress County systems at Veinerville, Dunmore and Desert Blume. The county utilities department will test at locations in a May-to-September timeframe, according to utilities supervisor Doran Jensen. The Town of Redcliff completed required testing in its service area in 2020, detecting no elevated levels at the locations, according to utilities director Corey Popick. 25-24
