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HomeMy WebLinkAboutVancouver School Board to vote on new water fountains that reduce lead exposure - Toronto Star - 09/24/2018 - Toronto Star - 09/24/20189/25/2018 Vancouver School Board to vote on new water fountains that reduce lead exposure I The Star l 'THE STAR VANCOUVER [ personalThis copy is for your useorderpresentation-ready ,. Vancouver School Board • vote on new water fountains reduce lead exposure By TESSA VIKANDER StarMetro Vancouver Mon., Sept. 24, 2ol 8 l9, 01R . - Ahead of the Sept. 24 vote, Carrie Bercic, a current school board trustee who is runningr re-election, said thatproviding ea - e water is paramount children's eat . https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/09/24/vancouver-school-board-to-vote-on-new-water-fou ntai ns-that- red uce-lead-expos ure. htm 1 1/5 9/25/2018 Vancouver School Board to vote on new water fountains that reduce lead exposure I The Star Ahead of the Sept. 24 vote, Carrie Bercic, a current school board trustee who is running for re-election, said that providing lead-free water is paramount for children's health. (JESSE WINTER / STARMETRO FILE) "We have to find a way to make sure that our drinking water is safe," said the OneCity Vancouver candidate. "Hopefully after tonight we can say that we have a we are addressing the problem." A VSB report presented last week — titled Lead in Drinking Water and authored by Doug McClary, the district's manager of maintenance and construction — states that the quantity of lead in water from drinking fountains falls below current federal and provincial guidelines for the acceptable lead contamination level of 10 parts per billion (ppb) or lower. But organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization say there is no safe level of lead exposure and even at low levels ga_.Yv�.ffect c'iildreVsd_*r,2.iv develo,#.jLjaLtj4_ ew.-use loU=LjS)-_ UMMM How safe is your water? B.C.'s lack of in-home lead testing leaves threat unknown https://www.thestar. co rn/va n co uver/201 8/0 9/24/va n couve r-sch oo 1 -boa rd -to -vote -o n -n ew-wate r -fou nta i ns-th at- red u ce-1 ead -expos u re. htm 1 2/5 9/25/2018 Vancouver School Board to vote on new water fountains that reduce lead exposure I The Star Vancouver civic party slams inaction on lead -contaminated drinking water in schools Over 120 B.C. schools report unsafe levels of lead in drinking water In 2016, the Ministry of Education made yearly lead testing mandatory at all schools. The VSB report recommends that the district take action to make its drinking water even better than the minimum requirements by shutting down the district's 67 drinking fountains that have tested for lead quantities between 5 and 10 ppb, replacing them with new drinking fountains that include water bottle -filling stations. These stations would use new pipes that won't leach lead into the water. That would mean the district's drinking water would meet new, lower lead -level standards currently under consideration by health officials. According to the report, all Vancouver high schools now have these water stations as well as 17 elementary s® It statest a it costs $5,000 to $7,000 to install a single station. Lisa Dominato, a current school board trustee who is running for a seat on city council with the NPA, said she supports efforts to make drinking water better for staff and students, noting that Bercic's motion would bolster the work the distric) is already doing to reduce exposure. By the end of the year, she said, the district expects to have 24 bottle refill stations, leaving more than 60 schools without. Under the current funding model, she said, would take too long before they're installed in all schools. I Because of this, she thinks that in addition to asking the government, the board should look at getting funding elsewhere as well. "Maybe we also have our staff explore partnerships with philanthropic orgInizations that might help us expedite that work," she said. h tt p s: //www. t h e sta r. co rn/va n co uve r/2 018/0 9/24/va n co u ve r- s ch oo I - b oa rd -to-vote -o n - n ew-wate r-fo u n ta i n s-th at- re d u ce- I e a d -e xp os u re. h trn 1 3/5 9/25/2018 Vancouver School Board to vote on new water fountains that reduce lead exposure I The Star otherAt least one .embracedwaternew! Tom Ferris, vice -chair of the Greater Victoria School District's board of education, said "Every school has drinking water* quality ! there are also bottle ! ! ! that whenr and students bring water bottles they A statement from Ferris' district says that it invested about $850,00 into the initiative a at a total of 230 new water fixtures and 40 newr-fi ra i n systems have been installed. With files from Ainslie Cruickshank Tessa Vikander is a Vancouver -based reporter covering identity and inequality. Follow her on Twitter: tessavikander REPORT AN ERROR JOURNALISTIC STANDARDS ABOUT US C;ile1 u uN �4 -�°, � ; '� w• ! '� iii p i�u 1 i#� I � i� ;�" � 11M MMS https://www.thestar. corn/vancouver/2018/09/24/vancouver-school-board-to-vote-on-new-water-fountains-that- red uce-lead-expos ure. htm1 4/5 9/25/2018 Vancouver School Board mvote nnnew water fountains that reduce lead exposure | The Star Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved, Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com 1 nta i . hon| 5/5