New chemical in Edmonton water to help prevent lead buildup
A new colourless, odourless chemical that is designed to act as a barrier to keep lead out of Edmonton's drinking water is now running through the city's taps.
As of last week, Epcor began adding orthophosphate to the water distribution network to prevent harmful lead from being dissolved off of pipes and moving into the tap water Edmontonians consume.
Jeff Charrois, analytical operations senior manager, told CTV News Edmonton that most people will be unable to notice a difference as the compound is tasteless.
"They don't have to do anything with their water," Charrois explained. "It's just sort of going to be there now in the background."
Epcor began planning to add orthophosphate to the city's water several years ago after Health Canada decreased the standards for approved levels of lead in drinking water from 10 micrograms per litre to five.
"When water leaves the treatment plant here at Epcor, there is no measurable lead," Charrois said. "It's picked up along the journey from the treatment plant into people's homes. And typically you would find lead in homes that might have lead service lines."
Charrois says there are still around 2,100 Epcor-owned service lines that still have pipes with lead — or roughly one and a half per cent of all lines. The utility provider does not know how many private plumbing systems contain soldering or fixtures with the harmful metal.
"[Orthophosphate] is going to be effective for the unknown, unknowns," Charrois said. "The areas that we may not have any testing in but where lead might actually be existing."
Epcor's Jeff Charrois speaks with CTV News Edmonton (CTV News Edmonton/Amanda Anderson).
Epcor closely monitors homes connected to the service lines containing lead, Charrois says. In 2019, approximately 325 tested over 25 micrograms per litre.
"So in those high-priority homes, we targeted those for lead service line removal and we've gotten basically to the bottom of that list this year," he said.
To find out more or for tips on identifying the type of pipes your home has, visit Epcor's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.