Christopher Foulds,
Kamloops This Week
The Kamloops-Thompson school district has decided to install lead-filtered water stations in every school in the district — but the daily flushing of pipes will continue.
Trustees approved the capital plan during an in-camera session prior to Monday [Jan.15] night’s public board meeting. The project will see one or two filtered drinking stations (the number of stations is dependent on the size of the school) installed in every school in the district. There are 44 schools in the district, which stretches from Savona in the west, southeast to Westwold and north to Blue River.
The district expects the installation to be finished by the start of the 2018-2019 school year in September. While the project has to go to tender, based on what it has cost various parent advisory councils (PAC) to install such units in their schools, the projected cost for the district-wide initiative is in the tens of thousands of dollars.
A lead-filtered water station typically costs $1,800.
The decision comes after concerns about lead levels were raised by some parents in city schools. Last month, a parent of a student at Marion Schilling elementary in Valleyview wrote a letter to Premier John Horgan and Minister of Education Rob Fleming, arguing the school needs two filtration stations — one for primary students and one for intermediate students. The reason, Eddy Davis said in his letter, is because an analysis of the water coming from the existing taps have shown the lead content “grossly exceeds the allowable limits for safe consumption.”
At the time, School District 73 superintendent Alison Sidow said some PACs in the region have been opting to buy filtration systems for their schools. She said it would cost the district about $200,000 to provide filtration systems for all schools that need them.
Among all schools in the district, only Pacific Way, built in 2000, does not have a lead problem in its water.
Last June, all schools in the Kamloops-Thompson school district except Pacific Way elementary were told to flush hallway fountains and classroom taps daily to eliminate elevated levels of lead.
Sidow said the recommendation to install the units followed continued concern on the part of parents.
“It’s clear that parents want this option for their children. More than 17 parent advisory committees had already found money to have these units installed in their schools and other PACs continue to fundraise to explore the option,” Sidow said. “This will ensure that all students in every one of our schools have equitable access to the safest possible drinking water.”
PACs that have already purchased filtration units for their schools will be reimbursed once the tender process is complete and final costs are determined.
Sidow told KTW that money to cover the costs will come from the district’s local capital fund, which is usually used for renovations, such as that done recently at the Kamloops School of the Arts.
She said while Pacific Way is the lone school in the district without a lead problem in its water — as the school was built post-1990 — it will also be included in the installation process.
Sidow said daily flushing of pipes will continue, noting the lead-filtered water stations are a safety enhancement. The stations will be attached to specific fountains, ensuring each school has one or two filtered drinking locations.
“It never hurts to have that additional assurance,” she said.
The issue of lead in school drinking water emerged as a provincial issue after water testing in Lower Mainland schools. The Ministry of Education directed all B.C. districts to test their water systems.
In Kamloops-Thompson, lead was found in 28 of 217 tests conducted. On average, the lead content was 12.9 per cent above the acceptable limit. Kamloops ranked 15th of the 34 districts tested; Greater Victoria was atop the rankings with 313 of the 612 taps and fountains tested showing lead at an average content of 51.1 per cent above the accepted limits.
The problem occurs when water sits in pipes overnight or through a weekend and comes into prolonged contact with lead pipe solder commonly used in home, business and institutional plumbing systems in buildings constructed before 1990.
Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correct the number of schools in the district (44) and to revise the estimated cost of installation.
