Vancouver affirms quality of drinking water after investigation finds lead in Canadian taps

Credit to Author: Harrison Mooney| Date: Wed, 06 Nov 2019 02:35:22 +0000

The City of Vancouver affirmed the quality of its water supply Tuesday, in the wake of an investigative report that found high levels of lead in Canadians’ drinking water.

A year-long investigation from Global News, published earlier Tuesday, found that hundreds of thousands of Canadians could be consuming tap water laced with high levels of lead, prompting a response from the municipality.

“Following recent media reports of water quality issues in Canadian municipalities, the City of Vancouver would like to confirm that the city phased out lead pipes in its water distribution system in the 1980s and 1990s,” the city said, in a news release.

Drinking water flowing through in Vancouver is routinely tested, the city said, confirming that lead levels are within Health Canada’s guidelines of five parts per billion.

The city also performs routine metals sampling twice a year at sites in the water distribution system selected by Metro Vancouver, with samples analyzed by a certified laboratory. These samples are consistently under Health Canada’s guidelines, the city said.

For those still concerned about the quality of their tap water, household testing kits can be purchased at home-improvement stores or online.

hmooney@postmedia.com

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