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Lead found in Fort Good Hope school water
Eight NWT schools have now been found to have lead either in their water supply, or coming from the pipes
Yet another Northern school has been found to have lead in its water systems.
As the GNWT continues to test for lead in the water systems of every school in the Territory, several water fixtures in Fort Good Hope’s Chief T’Selehye School have been found with lead levels above the maximum allowable concentration.
A public Health Order has been issued by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer, and a flushing order has been set for the school. Testing has found that the lead present at Chief T’Selehye comes from the fixtures themselves, rather than coming from the community water supply.
To help resolve the issue, the school will be flushing all affected fixtures for three minutes every morning. Sinks and water fountains will still remain available for use, as long as the flushing procedure is properly followed.
The GNWT will also be taking action for Chief T’Selehye School. The Department of Infrastructure, and the Department of Education, Culture, and Employment will be working to develop mitigation measures. Once those measures have been carried out, additional lead testing will be carried out and submitted to the Chief Public Health Officer.
This now marks the eighth NWT school to have lead in its water. Testing continues at other schools across the Territory, with the Diamond Jenness School in Hay River and the Chief Sunrise School in Kátł’odeeche First Nation set to be tested next.
