According to the report presented to WUC, the additional testing is primarily necessary to determine how fluoride will interact with the phosphoric acid already present in the system as a mechanism to prevent lead from leaching into the water supply. "WUC will be the first known water utility to add fluoride to the drinking supply which already contains phosphoric acid for purposes of lead mitigation," reads an excerpt from the report. "While other utilities have both additives … no other utility (in North American based on research to date) is known to have fluoride added subsequent to the addition of phosphoric acid."
Testing suggests 1 in 5 Winnipeg homes with lead pipes have unsafe levels of lead in drinking water
One in five Winnipeg homeowners with lead pipes will get unacceptable levels of lead in their drinking water the moment they turn on the tap, according to the City of Winnipeg. Under the city's lead water quality testing program, samples were taken from 268 homes with lead pipes between Aug. 15 and Nov. 19. The testing was done to ensure water quality met new national guidelines for lead in drinking water, which cut the acceptable amount of contamination in half last March. "Overall, the results are as expected," Renee Grosselle, manager of environmental standards with the City of Winnipeg, told reporters Tuesday afternoon.