The city of Montreal is warning pregnant women and young children to abstain
from drinking tap water in certain areas because of trace levels of lead.
Some older homes in the Plateau Mont-Royal, Notre-Dame-de-Grace and Villeray
districts are still serviced by lead pipes that are slowly leaching the
element into potable water, according to tests conducted by the city last
summer on 1,500 houses.
The tests found the majority of homes within the allowable limit.
The risk is minimal but the city doesn't want to take any chances, said Dr.
John Carsley, director of Montreal's public health department.
At the end of February, it began sending letters to about 400,000 households
warning residents the pipes connecting their homes to the main water system
may be made of lead, and recommended children under six and pregnant women
drink filtered water for the time being.
Montreal water itself is clean, but it could become contaminated with lead
if left standing in the pipes that connect residences to the municipal
system.
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The city is slowly replacing lead pipes remaining in the island's water
system, but retrofitting will take another two decades, municipal officials
said.
In the meantime people should consider switching to filtered water, Carsley
told CBC News.
"We don't think it's a public health danger … but our objectives in public
health is always to reduce the exposure to lead from whatever source."
"The risks are minimal but we recommend that everybody adhere to the norms."
The maximum allowable concentration for lead in Quebec is 0.010 mg per litre.
According to the public health department's website, "In some homes of fewer
than 8 living units built prior to 1970 and linked to the municipal aqueduct
system through a lead service connection, the tap water may exceed the
standard."
Tap water treated with with commercially available filters such as
faucet-mounted filters or filter pitchers certified by the NSF for lead
reduction should be safe, the public health department said.
There has never been a case of lead poisoning from Montreal's water supply,
Carsley said. Residents with concerns can call the city's water information
line at 514-868-4483.
