Community Lead-testing Program
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CONTACT
For further information on Utilities Kingston's Community Lead-testing Program, email
Philip Emon or call 613-389-0562.
RELATED LINK
TESTING REGULATIONS
For more on Ontario's new lead-testing regulation (Regulation 170/03) visit the Ministry
of the Environment's drinking water site or call its public information centre at 1-800-565-4923.
DOWNLOADS
CENTRAL RESULTS
Central Water System Lead Results - December 15, 2007, to April 15, 2008.
[PDF 11KB]
WEST RESULTS
West Water System Lead Results - December 15, 2007, to April 15, 2008.
[PDF 11KB]
PDF HELP
ACROBAT READER
The freely available Acrobat Reader software can be used to view the PDF documents on this Web site.
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The City seeks 200 qualified homeowners interested in participating in a volunteer lead-testing
program. Under this regulation, introduced last July, the Ministry of the Environment
requires the City to test the water in Kingston homes identified as receiving their water
through lead or lead-soldered pipes on their own property every six months.
The last round of tests indicates there continues to be no lead concerns associated with
Kingston's water distribution system. Out of the 322 samples collected on private property,
excessive lead level readings were found in two non-residential buildings and one home in
the central area of the city (the Ministry of Environment Standard for lead is 0.01 mg/1).
For this next round of testing, homes to be tested will be chosen at random from the pool
of volunteer participants who are located in an area likely to have homes built with lead
pipes - those with houses that were built before 1950 or homes built prior to 1990 with
non-lead service pipes, but having plumbing with suspected lead solder. Utilities Kingston
will conduct its tests at selected homes and will inform the homeowner of the test results
within a week of receiving them from the lab. Homeowners who volunteered in the past may
also be contacted for follow-up testing.
Those interested in participating in the testing can contact the Utilities Kingston
Customer Service Centre at 613-546-0000.
To complete the test, a Utilities Kingston certified operator will take three one-litre
samples of water from a faucet that has been flushed for five minutes and then left to
stand for 30 minutes.
The samples are tested by an accredited lab which is required to notify the Ministry of
the Environment's Spills Action Committee, Utilities Kingston and the Kingston, Frontenac,
Lennox and Addington Health Unit in the event that lead levels in a water system exceed
acceptable limits. Corrective action would then be directed by the Health Unit.
Participants will be informed of the results of their lead-level tests within seven days
after Utilities Kingston receives them.
If a report indicates that a lead concentration exceeds Ministry of Environment-set
maximum acceptable concentrations, Utilities Kingston will inform participants withing 24
hours of receiving the results and will notify the Health Unit as well.
If the free test results in a certificate of analysis that shows the lead content of a
tested household exceeds the limit, low-income homeowner may be eligible for provincial
assistance with the cost of a water filter and replacement cartridges if:
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the net income of the household is $20,000 or less, and
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there are family members in the household who are pregnant, or six years-old or younger.
Such homeowners may be eligible to receive up to $100 a year for the purchase of approved
on-tap filters and can call 613-546-2647, ext. 4943 for more information.
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