HALIFAX — Nearly two-thirds of Nova Scotia schools that tested their water for the first time this fall had dangerous levels of lead flowing from taps and fountains.
An investigation by Star Halifax, conducted as part of a collaboration with universities and media outlets across the country, found that schools on municipal water supplies — 220 of the province’s 370 — had never tested their water for lead until this year.
There is no safe level of lead, and the risk is greatest for children, who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts of lead because their bodies absorb the toxin more than adults. Lead in drinking water can impact a child’s cognitive development, IQ levels and overall health.
While all schools drawing from wells were required to test their water regularly, Nova Scotia schools on municipal water supplies were relying on municipal water testing. But experts say the real risk is lead in the taps, fountains and plumbing inside schools — not the municipal water.
Education Minister Zach Churchill has since promised that every school in the province will be tested by the end of the school year. The department of education told reporters earlier this month that 92 schools had tested their water so far this year.
In a followup email, department spokesperson JoAnn Alberstat revised that number to 86, saying one regional centre for education “inadvertently reported schools to be tested, as well as schools that have been tested.”
Star Halifax contacted each of the province’s seven regional centres for education to determine how many of those schools are on municipal water supplies — and therefore testing for the first time — and how many of those schools’ test results showed lead levels at taps or fountains above the Health Canada guideline of 5 parts per billion (ppb).
Of those 36 schools, 23 had at least one tap or fountain with elevated levels of lead — 64 per cent.
All of the regional centres said the affected taps or fountains were taken out of service, signage was posted in the schools, and parents and teachers were notified. In some cases, bottled water was brought in.
Alberstat, the department spokesperson, said not every tap was necessarily being used for drinking. “For example, some taps are for hand washing only or washroom faucets,” she wrote in an email.
With winter coming and 176 schools left to test, the department still plans to have every school on municipal water tested by the end of the school year, Alberstat said. Schools will have to wait till spring to ensure accurate results and compliance with Health Canada testing guidelines.
Nova Scotia Teachers Union president Paul Wozney said that delay is necessary but worrying.
“There’s going to be this waiting period for some people who now are wondering, ‘Gee is my water safe?’” he said. “That’s going to be uneasy for some folks, and we completely appreciate that.”
Wozney said teachers who are concerned about their water quality should ask their health and safety committee to prove the water is safe. If there’s no data to prove the water is safe, they can request other water sources.
“We have legislation in Nova Scotia that provides for a safe workplace for all workers, and teachers are no different,” Wozney said.
Wozney and Janine Kerr, the executive director of the union, had a “positive” meeting with Minister Churchill and Karen Gatien, associate deputy minister of education, on Friday to talk about water testing in schools.
“There appears to be a lot of hustle to address this issue from the department,” Wozney said afterward.
“We were able to share some suggestions in terms of communication.”
Wozney also asked the department to make sure it’s buying safe fountains and taps “to make sure that when new schools are built that they’re not building in contaminants to the water.” Several school board officials across Ontario told the Star they have discovered lead leaching from new fixtures and fountains marketed as being “lead free.”
Presented with the Star’s analysis of the new round of testing, Wozney said it highlights the need for “a rigorous, trustworthy regime of testing” with results that are centrally stored and accessible to parents and teachers.
“It’s a significant concern. People need to know that the water that they’re drinking in the workplace is safe to consume,” he said.
Minister Churchill has promised that a database of water-testing results from every school in the province will be publicly accessible before the next school year.
Which schools were tested:
- The Halifax Regional Centre for Education has more than 100 schools on municipal water supplies, and none of them have been tested. Spokesperson Doug Hadley said those schools will all be tested in the spring.
- Twenty-four of the Annapolis Valley Regional Centre for Education’s 42 schools are on municipal water, and nine of those were tested in October: Clark Rutherford Memorial School, Dwight Ross School, Falmouth District School, Hantsport School, Lawrencetown Consolidated School, Lawrencetown Education Centre, Port Williams Elementary School, Three Mile Plains District School, and Windsor Elementary School. Spokesperson Kristen Loyst said samples from seven of the nine schools exceeded the Health Canada guideline. Samples from Clark Rutherford Memorial School and Three Mile Plains District School were under 5 ppb.
- Thirty-five of the Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education’s 67 schools are on municipal water, and five were tested in October: GR Saunders Elementary, Trenton Elementary, West End Memorial, Junction Road Elementary, and Debert Elementary. The regional centre has received test results back for all five, and Trenton Elementary is the only one where none of the fixtures tested contained lead. Spokesperson Jennifer Rodgers said the rest of the regional centre’s schools on municipal water will be tested in the spring. “We are starting with our oldest schools that have our youngest children in attendance,” she wrote in an email.
- Twenty-nine of the Cape Breton-Victoria Regional Centre for Education’s 39 schools are on municipal water, and 11 of those were tested in October: Brookland Elementary, Coxheath Elementary, Cusack Elementary, Ferrisview Elementary, Glace Bay Elementary, Greenfield Elementary, Harbourside Elementary, Jubilee Elementary, Shipyard Elementary, St Annes Elementary, and Tompkins Elementary. Six of those schools had at least one tap or fountain with lead levels above 5 ppb. Cusack Elementary is now on bottled water, according to regional centre spokesperson Michelle MacLeod.
- Fifteen of the Strait Regional Centre for Education’s 20 schools are on municipal water, and they were all tested in October and early November. Spokesperson Deanna Gillis said the centre has received test results back from 11 of the 15, and six of those tested for lead above 5 ppb: Bayview Education Centre, Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School, East Richmond Education Centre, St. Andrew Junior School, St. Andrews Consolidated School, and St. Mary’s Education Centre/Academy.
- Eight of the Tri-County Regional Centre for Education’s 22 schools are on municipal water supplies. Regional director Chris Boulter said two of those were tested in late October: Lockeport Elementary and Hillcrest Academy. The regional centre is still waiting for results.
- Eight of the South Shore Regional Centre for Education’s 24 schools are on municipal water, and two were tested in October: Dr. John C. Wickwire Academy and Bluenose Academy. Paul Ash, director of the regional centre, said in an email that the results “have not been returned yet.”