Lead in Drinking Water

The Ontario drinking water quality standard, based on the National Health Canada guideline is 5 micrograms per liter. Even small amounts of lead can be harmful, especially to infants, young children and pregnant women.  

The Ontario Safe Drinking Water Act (Reg. 243/07 Schools, Private Schools and Day Nurseries) requires school boards to flush the cold water plumbing on a daily or weekly basis (depending on previous testing results and other factors), maintain flushing logs, take annual water samples, and report drinking water test results to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC). The testing results are generally available each fall since this testing tends to occur in the summer months. In addition to immediate notification to all staff of all concerning adverse results, the Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) is entitled to obtain the following from the Employer:

• consultation about any future water testing, and an opportunity for a worker member of a JHSC to attend at the beginning of testing
• technical information about the type and maintenance of filtration systems installed on plumbed water coolers or drinking fountains.

Any staff member with concerns has the right to request information from their Principal/Supervisor or discuss strategies with the worker members of their JHSC.