'Just wrong': Public provided lead tainted water at Newmarket courthouse: source

While the public have been left without, justices are being served bottled water following positive lead water tests at Newmarket court

Yorkregion.com
November 29, 2018
Jeremy Grimaldi

How would you feel if a public institution found out its drinking water contained high levels of lead and not only failed to notify you, but continued to provide it before shutting it off completely?

Well, that’s exactly what two staff members at the Newmarket courthouse say occurred at the building in the wake of two water quality tests that showed water emanating from many of its public water sources had lead levels in excess of provincial standards.

Although Infrastructure Ontario is refusing to make the water test results public, a leaked email shows that two tests – completed June 25 and then Sept. 12 – found that at least eight faucets, mostly those provided for the public, were delivering water with increased levels of lead.

Those faucets include the jury assembly room kitchenette and the first, second and third-floor drinking fountains.

In the wake of these tests, for up to one week, the courthouse, which is run by Infrastructure Ontario and the management company CBRE Limited, continued to provide the tainted water to the public, according to a courthouse staff member who did not want his name released due to fears of professional reprisal.

Since then, most of the tainted water sources have been shut off entirely, including all the public water fountains, which for more than a month have had signs saying "OUT OF SERVICE (we) are working on repairing this issue."

“I think it’s a travesty they are not providing sufficient potable water,” said the source, who has been working at the courthouse for about five years. "I don't think they're handling it very well."

As far as the bathroom faucets go, people may never know what the lead levels are, considering the email, and now, signs in the bathroom state that “washroom faucets are not considered sources of drinking water”.

The source further explained that since the tests were reported to staff, he and his colleagues have been serving jugs of water filled from the three faucets in the building that did not test for lead to people in the courtroom.

Meanwhile, justices have been granted access to large amounts of bottled water.

But it’s not just members of the public who are suffering without access to clean water -- some inmates are also going without.

The same source said one inmate he met told him he spent the entire day in the court’s cells, from the morning until 4 p.m., when he was set free, all the while without water.

“Poor guy goes to the water fountains and there’s no water,” he said. “The cafeteria was closed, and he’s got no money.”

He said he felt so bad for the man, he decided to buy a bottle of water for him from the vending machine.

Despite repeated requests to have potable water delivered by many staff, the source said it's only the cafeteria and the justices that are now having water delivered.

Another member of staff, who works as a clerk at the courthouse and did not want her name released for fear she'd lose her job, said the ministry began testing the water following a complaint about the water in the staff room “about five months ago.”

The first test, conducted on June 25, showed the mezzanine kitchen faucet had increased levels, according to the leaked email.

Despite this, the court kept serving faucet water jugs to the public until the results of the September tests were delivered, she said.

“Why would they serve that to the public when you know it's bad water,” she said. “If there’s something wrong, they should fix it. They’re trying to be cheap, they are constantly trying to cut corners. Especially a courthouse, you should be trying to set the highest example. It’s totally inappropriate and just wrong.”

Infrastructure Ontario's spokeswoman Alanna Miles explained in an email that tenants and the building visitors health and safety is its number one concern.

"We are working closely with the Ministry of the Attorney General and our property management service provider has engaged an independent consultant to conduct testing of potable water sources in the building," she wrote.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Attorney General spokesman wrote in an email that signs posted the day after the test results were delivered and that only justices without access to water on their floor have been provided with potable water.

He added that a certified filter for lead reduction was installed in one of the locations to reduce the affect of lead in the water.

This is not the first facility problem with the Newmarket courthouse.

In 2001, staff at the courthouse were left ill following the discovery of mould in the building, leading to repairs that cost millions.

There was a $50-million lawsuit by a man who claimed he received kidney stones and serious breathing problems as a result of the mould.

In 2015, there was a rodent problem and the building's new addition suffered serious technical issues and excessive outdoor noise, bringing trials to a halt due to the volume in the courthouse.

Justices have regularly complained that the technology in the building is poor and needs to be upgraded.