Updates on Regina lead pipe removal set to be reported biennially, upsetting some residents

Regina’s ongoing effort to remove lead pipes in the city’s drinking water infrastructure is set to be reported on every two years, according to a recent decision by Executive Committee.

Some residents in Regina are demanding to get the lead out when it comes to the safety of Regina’s drinking water.

In Executive Committee on Wednesday, city council addressed its plans to remove all lead service connection pipes in the city.

The lead connectors currently provide water for approximately 3,000 Regina homes.

In 2021, the city implemented a timeline for its Lead Service Connection Management Program – set to end in 2036 and cost $36 million.

“Part of the issue we understand from the original decision was the cost to the rate payers and spreading it out over 15 years as opposed to 10 or five years,” Mayor Sandra Masters said.

“The previous decision in council was to take it from a 30 year replacement to a 15 year replacement. That is what administration is operating on right now. That is what administration is reporting on right now, and the solution in the interim is filters.”

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At its Wednesday meeting – Executive Committee decided to receive updates on the replacement every two years instead of annually.

Delegate Patricia Elliot attended the meeting at city hall and shared her disappointment following the decision.

“With some of the councillors, I don’t know how they sleep at night. How they continue to delude themselves that this is an effective way to manage a highly toxic substance in the drinking water,” Elliot told reporters.

“Unfortunately lead in the water has become politicized for whatever reason by political leaders. They don’t want it publicly discussed. They say it’s too expensive to publicly discuss it – that’s no calculation that you can put on democracy.”

The issue is prevalent in homes built before 1960, when lead pipes were commonly used in home plumbing systems.

The issue of Regina’s drinking water came to light in 2019 after an investigation led by Concordia University’s Institute for Investigative Journalism discovered that Regina, Moose Jaw, and Saskatoon tap water had some of the highest measured levels of lead in Canada.

The maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) for total lead in drinking water is 0.005 milligrams per litre according to Health Canada.

Those most at risk for lead poisoning are pregnant women and children under six-years-old.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority says that around half of the lead absorbed through the kidneys or intestines is excreted by the human body.

Children remain at a higher risk due to their still developing organs allowing lead to build up in the blood and soft tissue.

More information on lead related symptoms can be found here.

The committee’s recommendations are set to be approved at city council’s meeting on Sept. 13.