School District 52 releases data on August water testing at Prince Rupert schools

The topic of lead in the water at the city's public schools remains high on the list of items of interest for parents as their children head back to school for the 2016-17 school year.

And in order to address some of those concerns School District 52 has published the latest results from water testing from reviews taken in late August.

In an update provided on the SD52 website on September 2nd, the results of testing done at all School District facilities provide three areas where lead is considered to be above the maximum allowable concentration listed at 0.01 mg/L

School District 52 has released the latest water testing results conducted
at School District facilities across the city

All of the areas of note were from sink faucets, with one located at the Prince Rupert Middle School, one at Pacific Coast School and one found at the School Board office.

Measures that were taken to address the issue included designating the room at Prince Rupert Middle School as a non-potable tap water source, that designation was also given to the source at the School Board office.

At Pacific Coast School plans are in place for the installation of water filters at domestic water lines.

The School District also stressed in its information release that all of the District's buildings are equipped with safe drinking water supply for students, staff and the public.

With guidance from Northern Health the School District has invested over 300,000 dollars towards the District's Safe Drinking Water and lead mitigation program. That program includes receipt of 150,000 dollars in funding from the Ministry of Education's School Enhancement program.

You can learn more about the most recent tests and a review of the issue from the spring from the information paper from the School District here.

Parents and Guardians were first advised of the lead in water issues back in February of this year when the School District sent out an advisory on the issue and the steps they were taking to address it.

More background on the water issues can be found as part of our School District 52 archive page.