Leduc launches voluntary residential water sampling campaign

The City of Leduc has implemented a Lead Management program to support the continued health and safety of residents. It is also part of a provincial requirement to ensure compliance with the lead level limit outlined in Health Canada’s Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, which were updated in 2019.

Leduc’s drinking water is safe and clean. This program is purely precautionary, and is required of all municipalities in Alberta. 

Health Canada has lowered the Maximum Acceptable Concentration (MAC) of lead in drinking water by 50 per cent, from 10 to 5 parts per billion (PPB), and changed the location of where compliance must be met from the system’s point of distribution to the customer’s tap.

As a result, Leduc is required to participate in a provincial water sampling program to ensure compliance with the new guidelines. Sixty residential water samples must be collected between May – September 2021, and the City is seeking assistance from residents to provide small water samples.

Properties invited to participate have been chosen at random, and will receive a letter directly from the City. During a scheduled appointment (where all health and safety protocols will be observed), a City technician will collect a small water sample from the kitchen tap and conduct a visual inspection of the water service line at the property’s water meter. Residents will receive the results of their sample tests as soon as they are available.

The majority of Leduc’s neighbourhoods were built after 1960, meaning it is unlikely that lead service lines exist in our community. Lead was generally no longer used in service line construction after 1960 (nor was lead necessarily used in all service lines before 1960). Lead can sometimes also be present in household plumbing fixtures, such as pipes, solder connecting pipes, or fixtures such as faucets. Household plumbing and fixtures are the responsibility of the property owner.

If lead above the MAC is identified as part of the 2021 sampling program, the City will support the resident in investigating potential sources and immediate solutions for safe consumption.

More information on Leduc’s Lead Management program is available at www.leduc.ca/lead-management.