Lead contamination found in water of Tulita school

A Public Health Order has been issued for yet another NWT school after lead testing was conducted on their water supply.

The testing was conducted at Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita, where lead levels were found to be above the maximum acceptable concentration as set out by the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water quality.

The GNWT will now be working to identify where the lead is leaking into the water, and either replacing that part of the water system, or installing more efficient filters. Once that is done, a new round of testing will be carried out until the lead levels drop below the acceptable standard.

For several months now, the GNWT has been testing for lead in the water of every school in the Territory, with nearly every school showing similar results as Tulita. External water sources have been provided to contaminated schools, and even to schools that had yet to be tested as a precautionary measure.

Tulita is the final school to be tested, and once all upgrades have been made, the GNWT will then move on to testing in water systems outside of schools. More information will be provided as the plans are laid out.