East Gwillimbury residents don't need to worry about water: Mayor

Residents have nothing to fear when it comes to the town’s drinking water, Mayor Virginia Hackson says

Yorkregion.com
Nov. 15, 2019
Simon Martin

East Gwillimury residents have nothing to fear when it comes to the town’s drinking water, according to Mayor Virginia Hackson.

More than 120 journalists from nine universities and 10 media organizations, including the Toronto Star and the Institute for Investigative Journalism, conducted a year-long investigation collecting test results that measure exposure to lead in 11 Canadian cities and found hundreds of thousands of Canadians are consuming tap water laced with high levels of lead due to aging infrastructure.

Out of 12,000 tests conducted since 2014, 33 per cent exceeded the national safety guideline of five parts per billion (ppb).

Reporters also spread out over 32 cities and towns from coast to coast and tested the water of willing residents living in older homes. Using the accepted standards and submitting samples to accredited labs, it was found that 39 per cent of the samples exceeded the current federal guideline.

While media reports have sparked chatter on local social media groups and phone calls to the town’s customer service department questioning the safety of local drinking water, Hackson reassured residents there is nothing to worry about.

“The water is tested regularly,” Hackson said.

Although testing for lead in municipal water is not a requirement from Health Canada, lead testing of town water is done annually to meet Ontario regulations. Water operation staff take samples daily to ensure drinking water is safe and healthy from source to tap.

East Gwillimbury purchases all its drinking water from York Region. The town owns and operates three large municipal drinking-water systems. York Region purchases a portion of the required water from the city of Toronto and the region of Peel.

Schools were also pegged for having high levels of lead in their water due to aging infrastructure in the investigation, but the York Region District School Board said it is vigilant with monitoring and taking action to remediate issues when they arise.

The public board introduced a new water-testing process a couple of years ago, where water is tested annually at each school, said school board spokesperson Christina Choo-Hum.

Each school has to meet the requirements laid out by Ontario’s environment and climate change ministry.

If levels exceed the safety guideline, the school board works with public health to mitigate the issue by flushing pipes, removing a particular fixture and providing an alternative water source until the test levels are clear, Choo-Hum said.

Earlier this year, residents in Mount Albert complained about discoloured water.

At the time, Luis Carvalho, senior project manager for York Region said the region continuously monitors water quality to ensure compliance with standards.

According to Carvalho, the brown appearance of the water is caused by naturally occurring iron commonly found in groundwater. The water continues to meet regulatory requirements and remains safe to consume.

To mitigate the effect, the region treats well water with sodium silicate to reduce iron precipitation, but Carvalho said the water's age, temperature and other factors influence effectiveness.

The region initiated a water and environmental assessment earlier this year to optimize water-supply transmission and improve water-quality esthetic parameters.

For tips on what you can do to find out if you have lead in your tap water, click here and scroll to the section on York Region.