LEAD FOUND IN SCHOOL TAP WATER (Fountains) AT SHOCKING LEVELS

Very strange. Why is there an excellent on-line article dated yesterday (Nov. 5/19) in today's K-W Record titled "Does your child's school have dangerous levels of lead in the water? Search our database", that was not in today's morning edition hard copy Waterloo Region Record? That said there was however an excellent article in yesterday's Record titled "Canada's water isn't as clean as it looks? That article is also about recent lead levels found in drinking water across Canada. All of this underscores my long term criticism of tap water. Here in the Region of Waterloo we are apparently following the dictates of the Ontario Clean Water Act and quite frankly they aren't half as stringent or transparent as they should be.

I've now read both of these reports and I am appalled. Is this how our elites and wealthy families who dominate the political landscape maintain their status and power via ignoring public health issues that seriously negatively impact upon the cognitive development of much of society's young? These cognitive developments have been measured and show direct impacts on I.Q. tests for example. They also affect speech, memory, coordination, and a host of serious physical issues caused by young children being exposed to lead. Or on the other hand are our financial elites just as blissfully unaware of these horrible health impacts on everyone's children including their own? What is clear is that our institutions and authorities have known this information for years and have carefully kept it out of the public domain for a very long time.

This public health crisis has been growing as lead pipes, lead solder, and even lead in fixtures has been slowly leaching into the water. Lead concentrations in drinking water vary widely across Canada but basically every city, every older school and every older home are impacted. Even newer homes in older subdivisions that still have old lead pipes as part of their infrastructure are at risk. Some municipalities have been slowly replacing these lead pipes when they are doing road excavations or other infrastructure updates. This is not enough by half.

Short term mitigations are possible such as schools that are closed for weekends, summer and Christmas holidays have serious flushing occur prior to reopening. The lead apparently leaches into the water at a greater rate when the water is stagnant i.e. been sitting for longer periods in the pipes. This is not remotely a "fix" but simply a short term mitigation until the offending pipes, fixtures, solder etc. has been removed. Perhaps even more important is public knowledge. Schools, governments, and the media need to get the message out especially to parents of young children. Schools must be transparent and keep parents in the loop if and when lead tests reveal exceedances at their schools.