The Manitoba Government is monitoring the drinking water in a number of communities to test for lead. On Tuesday, the province confirmed it is working with water systems to find any lead exposure in Manitoba’s drinking water. This comes after Health Canada created new guidelines for lead in drinking water in 2019, prompting the Manitoba government to adopt the guidelines as the standard. The province also created a lead in drinking water website and developed an operation guideline for water systems. When it comes to lead monitoring programs, the province is prioritizing older, larger water systems that have known or suspected lead services. Lead monitoring was brought into Winnipeg in 2019 and then Brandon in 2021.
In Benton Harbor, residents’ complaints of lead-tainted water carry echoes
When Carmela Patton moved into her Benton Harbor home from a nearby apartment complex, she didn’t think twice about turning on the faucet to boil noodles or get a drink. Only late last year, after her pastor recruited her to participate in a water quality sampling program, did she learn the city was in the midst of a water contamination crisis. Water samples from Benton Harbor homes since 2018 consistently revealed elevated levels of lead, a potent neurotoxin that damages the brain and nervous system and is particularly dangerous to young children.
Halifax Water considers accelerated plan to replace lead pipes after Tainted Water investigation
Halifax Water is considering an expensive proposal to speed up the replacement of its customers’ underground lead pipes in the wake of a groundbreaking investigation, exposing widespread risk of contaminated tap water in hundreds of thousands of homes in Nova Scotia and across Canada. The utility board will review a report during a meeting on Thursday that cites the Tainted Water series as an impetus for the recommended course of action. The new plan would cost $14 million, but save money in the long run, the report said.