Photo by Liam Verster

By Liam Verster

Water Quality

Lead levels not a worry for Grande Prairie’s tap water: Aquatera

Nov 7, 2019 | 6:27 AM

A recent report conducted by over 120 journalists across the country found alarmingly high lead levels in tap water in cities across Canada, but the potable water supplier for Grande Prairie says residents don’t have to worry.

Jeff Johnston, Chief Operating Officer for Aquatera, says the infrastructure in Grande Prairie is relatively young, and doesn’t contain lead.

“Lead pipes are really more common in municipalities that have older infrastructure. Like, you think about Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto, and (places) like that. The Aquatera infrastructure is very young in relation to comparable municipalities, and there is no lead pipes in the Aquatera owned system.”

He says the oldest infrastructure in Grande Prairie is an AC water pipe, which is a concrete pipe coated in asbestos. However, Johnston says Aquatera has replaced most of those over the past 30 years, with either PVC or high density polyethylene pipes.

Aquatera provides potable water through over 25,000 connections, and Johnston says over the last 20 years, there has only been three instances where high lead levels were detected in private residences, and they promptly dealt with those situations, and resolved the issues.

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He adds that regular water quality tests are done on the tap water provided to residents as part of their Alberta Environment Operating Approval mandate. Aquatera does two tests a year, usually in January in July.

“I just reviewed the test results yesterday, I don’t have them in front of me, unfortunately, but none of the tests exceeded the Canadian Drinking Water Guidelines, which is five parts per billion. We were well below that.”

The most recent report, dated August 8, 2019, shows lead levels well below one part per million. The full report can be seen here.

He says while Aquatera’s infrastructure is lead free, some private residents, especially those in older buildings and houses, may be using lead pipes.

While the risk is very low, if someone is concerned about their tap water, it can be tested.
Alberta Health Services recommends that residents within a municipality contact their local municipality or utility for assistance. AHS will then work with those agencies on the water quality test results, and offer any advice or recommendations for next steps. Anyone with a private water system can contact AHS directly for help with testing their water and interpreting the results.

If anyone has questions or concerns about their water source, they are encouraged to contact Aquatera, and anyone concerned about health risks are advised to speak with their healthcare provider, AHS Environmental Public Health, or call HealthLink at 811.