Learn about water testing in Yukon schools

Testing Yukon schools

In 2018, we began testing water fixtures in our older schools, built before 1990, to check for lead. We continued these tests in 2019 in all other schools. Any fixtures that had unsafe levels of lead were replaced to meet the safety standards of that time.

In late 2019, Health Canada made the rules for lead in water much stricter, lowering the safe limit from 0.020 mg/L to 0.005 mg/L. Because of these new rules, we checked our previous test results again. We found that some schools might have water fixtures that do not meet these new standards.

To fix this, the Department of Education will re-test water fixtures in the affected schools to make sure they meet the new guidelines. We aim to finish any needed repairs before the next school year starts to keep disruption low and continue keeping our schools safe.

For now, any water fixtures that don't meet the safety standards have been turned off. We are making sure that all schools have sources of safe drinking water.

You can view the test results from 2018 and 2019 beginning on the next page.

We will post the new test results when they are available.

What do I need to know about lead in Yukon schools

The Chief Medical Officer of Health advises that there is no short-term risk to health associated with water fixtures with lead levels slightly above the national standards. These standards are based on exposure to lead over a lifetime.

Children drink water from many sources. Drinking water from these fixtures would not be enough to significantly affect their health or development.

What is lead?

Lead is a heavy metal that occurs naturally in low levels in the environment. Everyone is exposed to trace amounts of lead through:

Can I remove lead from my drinking water?

If you’re concerned about lead levels in your drinking water, there are ways to remove it permanently. Check out the links below from Health Canada to learn more.

You can reduce your exposure in the meantime. Health Canada recommends using only cold tap water for:

drinking;
cooking; and
preparing baby formula.

Hot water increases the release of lead and other metals from plumbing.

You can also let your tap run for about 1 minute to flush out your plumbing after water has been sitting in the pipes for a few hours. You can also clear the pipes by:

flushing the toilet;
taking a shower; or
starting a load of laundry.

Learn more with Health Canada:

2018-19 results and testing procedures

How we tested for lead

We tested the water to identify which water fixtures might be leaching lead. This is a pass or fail test. It does not represent the average concentration of lead in the drinking water. Lead levels drop when water is flushed. Fixtures that test above the 20 micrograms per litre (ug/L) level did not pass the test.

The testing procedure was as follows:

We flushed water at every water fixture.
The water sat stagnant in the water system for 16 to 24 hours to allow for the largest amount of lead leaching.
We took a 250 millilitres standing sample from every water fixture.
We took a 2nd 250 millilitres flushed sample from some water fixtures following a 30-second flush.
We also took a main water sample from some schools.
We sent the water samples to Caro Analytical Services in Richmond, BC, for testing.
Caro Analytical Services sent the results back to the Department of Education for action.

Measurement units

We measure the results in micrograms per litre (ug/L). We follow Health Canada guidelines and replace any water fixtures that test above 20 ug/L.

The “RL Units” seen next to the result is the reporting limit. This limit is set at 0.20 ug/L. Any results below this number are reported as “<0.20”. Measurements for lead are written as either:

microgram per litre (ug/L); or
milligrams per litre (mg/L).

Fixture labels

After testing, we label each water fixture. The labels you may see include:

BS or BF: bathroom sink or bathroom fixture
CS or CF: classroom sink or classroom fixture
CSF: classroom sink with fountain
KS or KF: kitchen sink or kitchen fixture
S: sink
DF: drinking fountain
HF: hall fountain

Results for schools built before 1990

The chart state the number of fixtures:

identified for replacement or repair; and
the mitigation work that has taken place.

If a drinking water fountain or kitchen sink tap tested above the limit, we identify this beside the number of fixtures. Otherwise, fixtures include classroom and bathroom sink taps. Specific values obtained during testing are available for each school in the PDF document.

We'll update the chart as work progresses. Read the reports to find out specific testing values.

School	Number of water fixtures we identified for replacement	Upgrade work completed	Results report
Christ the King Elementary	3	3 fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Eliza Van Bibber, Pelly Crossing	26 (including 2 drinking water fountains; 4 kitchen sinks)	All fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results at the majority of the new fixtures; 3 classroom fixtures and 1 drinking fountain remain designated as non-drinking sources until further notice.	Report 1 Report 2 A 2nd round of testing was completed to get flushed samples. Report 3 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Golden Horn Elementary	5	Repairs at all fixtures now complete; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures. Report 3 Test results following extra repairs.
Ghùch Tlâ Community, Carcross	16 (including 4 kitchen sinks)	All fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results at the majority of fixtures; 5-bathroom fixtures will remain designated as non-drinking sources until further notice.	Report 1 Report 2 A 2nd round of tests was done at this school to ensure testing validity. Report 3 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Grey Mountain Primary	1 (including 1 drinking water fountain)	Drinking fountain replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Jack Hulland Elementary	13	All mitigation work complete; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 A 2nd round of testing was completed to get flushed samples. Test results following the replacement of fixtures: Report 3 Report 4
Johnson Elementary, Watson Lake	1	Fixture replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Khàtìnas.àxh, Teslin	6 (including 1 kitchen sink)	Repairs of all fixtures now complete; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures. Report 3 Test results following extra repairs.
Kluane Lake, Destruction Bay	0	None required.	Report
Nelnah Bessie John, Beaver Creek	1 (including 1 drinking water fountain)	Drinking fountain replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Porter Creek Secondary	20	All fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results at the majority of the new fixtures; 5 classroom sinks will remain designated as non-drinking sources until further notice.	Report 1 Report 2 A 2nd round of testing was completed to get flushed samples. Report 3 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Robert Service, Dawson City	34 (including 1 drinking water fountain; 1 kitchen sink)	Repairs at all fixtures now complete; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 A 2nd round of testing was completed to get flushed samples. Report 3 Test results following the replacement of fixtures. Report 4 Test results following extra repairs.
Selkirk Elementary	7	7 fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
St. Elias Community, Haines Junction	1	1 fixture replaced; extra testing being scheduled.	Report
Takhini Elementary	2	2 fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
St. Francis Catholic Secondary	16	Repairs at all fixtures now complete; 2 bathroom fixtures will be permanently labelled as non-drinking sources.	Report 1 Report 2 A 2nd round of testing was completed to get flushed samples. Report 3 Test results following the replacement of fixtures. Report 4 Test results following extra repairs.
Whitehorse Elementary	3	3 fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.
Wood Street Centre	7 (including 1 drinking fountain)	7 fixtures replaced; extra tests show clean results.	Report 1 Report 2 Test results following the completion of mitigation work. Report 3 Test results following the replacement of fixtures.

Results for schools built after 1990