The drinking water at schools within the Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board follow stringent water testing in accordance with Ontario Regulation 243/07 and under the direction of the Ministry the Environment, Conservation and Parks. All sampling, testing and any remediation is completed before school commences to ensure the health and safety of students.

Since 2007, the Ontario government has been requiring child care centres and schools to flush the plumbing in their facilities and test their drinking water for lead.

New amendments to Ontario Regulation 243/07 took effect July 1, 2017 requiring lead testing within these facilities to include all fixtures used to provide drinking water and/or prepare food or drink for children under 18.

Lead is a naturally occurring element. Lead has many industrial uses and has been found in water systems since the late 1800s. It is also present in soil,food and indoor dust. Over the past few decades, exposure to lead has significantly decreased due to restrictions in the use of lead in gasoline, paint and solder.

Ontario’s surface and groundwater generally does not contain lead. If lead does occur naturally, the concentrations are typically extremely low and below the drinking water standard for lead. Where there are concentrations of lead in drinking water above the standard, the likely cause is from the lead pipes servicing the premises, lead solder used in the plumbing or fixtures containing high percentages of lead.

Lead pipe service connections have been used to deliver water from distribution pipes since the late 1800s. Older buildings (generally those built before the mid-1950s) are more likely to have lead connections. By 1990, the amount of lead in solder that could be used in drinking water plumbing was substantially reduced.

The amount of lead leaching into drinking water from these components depends largely on the chemical characteristics of the water. In certain circumstances, extended contact between standing water and the components can cause the lead to be released from the pipes. When the tap is turned on, water that has been standing in the pipes may have accumulated lead levels higher than Ontario’s standard for lead

Two samples of water are taken from each fixture where water used for consumption. 

The first sample is a “standing” sample. This is taken after the water has not been in use or remained dormant in the water lines for a period not less than six hours.

The second sample is a “flushed” sample. This sample is taken after the water has been run for five minutes. Flushed samples are representative of water quality during a school day.

Water samples are gathered between the months of May and October each year.

Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board hires an independent, certified third-party to gather water samples and send to a certified laboratory to perform the analysis. Under the regulation, if an exceedance is detected, the lab is required to inform the Ministry of Environment Spills Action Centre, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, The Service Area’s Public Health Unit, the Ministry of Education and the school board.

Test results are from an independent certified testing lab governed by the province. The testing program is also overseen by the

If water samples are found to exceed the provincial standard, action is taken to address the problem. The specific action is based on the results of the water sample. For example, if the exceedance is in the standing water sample only, and the sample after flushing water is acceptable, then a daily flushing regimen is adopted. If both the standing water and the sample after flushing exceed the provincial standard, the water fixture is taken out of service to respond to the problem, in accordance with provincial regulations.

Water fixtures are not returned to service until lead levels in drinking water are below provincial requirements. If fixtures are taken out of service, they are made inaccessible through signage, turned off and are only put back into use once a satisfactory test result has been obtained.

Some methods used to address issues include replacement of the fixture, piping, and/or adding an NSF certified lead filter.

Yes. Testing results and actions to address issues found are shared with the Ontario government and school’s jurisdictional local public health unit (Algoma Public Health, Porcupine Health Unit or Public Health Sudbury & District) and are also posted on the HSCDSB website (see below).

The information is publicly available on the websites of the Huron-Superior Catholic District ​School Board​ and the ​Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks​. If a test result shows an exceedance, parents/guardians and staff are notified directly by the school.  Each fixture is shut down, signage is posted and an alternative water supply is provided.

A “drinking water fixture” refers to to every drinking water fountain and every tap that is used to provide drinking water or to prepare food and/or drink for children under 18.

The “Handwashing only” signs are a visual indicator that these fixtures won’t be tested for lead and therefore, are not considered ‘drinking water sources’ for student consumption. Instead, they are to be used for hand washing and other classroom purposes only.​

Flushing is performed and logged on a daily basis.