School District 27 is receiving some funds from the provincial government to address levels of elevated lead at Lake City Secondary-Columneetza Campus, Mountview Elementary School, and Naghtaneqed Elementary/Junior Secondary school in Nemiah Valley.
The Ministry of Education announced Monday that students in six schools in Saanich, Rossland, Victoria, Williams Lake, and Nemiah Valley will soon have access to healthier water thanks to an accelerated investment in student health and safety.
“It would be whatever is necessary from the replacement of pipes and taps, and any fittings that contain lead,” explains Kevin Futcher, Secretary-Treasurer for School District 27 who says the elevated levels at the three schools were discovered this past year and that they have been providing bottled water to the students.
“We haven’t been flushing,” he adds. “As a routine, we generally shut down the affected water and it does vary depending on the school, but generally, flushing takes I know when my staff talked about it, an hour to an hour and a half.”
The funding for the three capital projects according to Futcher totals just under $500,000 and will remediate the problem as soon as the work is completed.
“One or two of the projects may take a little bit longer into the new year, but will have to be completed by February middle of March so we are done for the Ministry of Education financial year end.”
The provincial health officer according to the Ministry of Education has said there is no evidence of children having been adversely affected by lead in drinking water in B.C.