Manitoba funding grants to test lead in school drinking water

The Manitoba government is helping fund the testing and mitigation of lead in drinking water in the province’s public schools along with launching a campaign to recognize facilities that have demonstrated compliance with the updated national guidelines for lead in drinking water.

The government has established a $1.6-million grant program to fully fund the cost of testing drinking water taps for lead and for related mitigation activities, which can include filtering the water or eliminating the source of the lead.

The province reports that results to date show that over 80% of public schools have tested drinking water for lead. Of those, 79% were below the lead standard or have completed mitigation efforts if results were elevated.

All schools with results above the guideline have been provided with guidance on steps to protect students while work is being completed, and efforts are underway to ensure remaining schools are tested by the end of summer.

The same support program has been initiated for independent schools and child-care centres, with testing and remediation well underway.

Additionally, the government is launching a lead in drinking water compliance recognition campaign, which identifies facilities that have been tested and demonstrate compliance with the national guideline for lead in drinking water.

Schools and child-care centres that meet the national guideline for lead in drinking water will be recognized with a “certified lead tested” sticker.