Lead in Drinking Water in Ottawa Schools

On March 16th, the Canadian Environmental Law Association released a report called “F’ for Effort: Ontario is falling behind on getting lead out of school drinking water.” The report used provincial data to rank the school boards and individual schools that had the highest number of lead tests exceeding 10 parts per billion (ppb) in 2024/25.

In their ranking, three out of the ten schools with the highest amount of lead exposure in the province were in Ottawa. Two out of the three were in Orléans: Orléans Wood Elementary School and Fallingbrook Community Elementary School. The Ottawa Carleton District School Board is the school board with the highest number of lead tests exceeding 10ppb in the entire province.

Lead is a heavy toxic metal that was used in pipes prior to 1975, and plumbing solder and fixtures until the 1990s. No amount of lead exposure is safe, and even low levels of exposure are linked to potentially life-altering impacts on children’s brain development, such as decreased attention spans and behavioural problems.

Understanding lead exposure in Ontario schools

Ontario was one of the first provinces to regulate lead in school drinking water in 2007, yet students across Ontario are still being exposed to dangerous levels of lead.

In 2019, Health Canada strengthened its limit on lead in drinking water, which was lowered from 10ppb to 5ppb.

It’s been seven years, and Ontario still hasn’t lowered its provincial limit on lead in drinking water to meet Health Canada’s standard. In Ontario, lead levels need to reach double the national standard before the government takes any real action. This puts the health of our children, teachers and educational support staff at risk.

It’s time for Ontario to adopt Health Canada’s national standard of 5ppb.

Thank you to all of the parents who have reached out to our office to raise this serious concern. MPP Blais will continue advocating for the government to take this issue seriously.