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| Mayor Lee Brain made a short statement to council on Monday evening related to recent national media reports on lead in Prince Rupert water |
For many on Prince Rupert City Council, the last few days must feel like an extra strong dose of Deja vu. With water concerns once again making for a theme heading towards a holiday period, bringing back some of those now near one year old memories of boiling pots of water and concerns over what may, or may not be coming out of a tap.
This time around, the topic is lead and the tempest of sorts has blown into town thanks to a series of news reports from a consortium of investigative journalists and news organizations.
As we outlined on Monday, the Prince Rupert segment towards the nationwide work of the collective came as a result of some testing on a number of Prince Rupert homes where excessive levels of lead were found.
From the results that were delivered, some of those levels were reported as exceeding numbers recorded in Flint, Michigan a comparison that no doubt sends a chill down the spine of any municipal leader.
From the results that were delivered, some of those levels were reported as exceeding numbers recorded in Flint, Michigan a comparison that no doubt sends a chill down the spine of any municipal leader.
The City responded with its official statement on Monday afternoon, making for what would be a preamble of sorts to a presentation at Monday night's City Council session from Mayor Lee Brain to provide for the city's view of the study.
On one side of the debate, is the collective of news resources and investigative journalists who were tasked with the review of water across the country.
Over 160 of them, working at universities and newsrooms across Canada, delivering the reports of Monday that have now caught the attention of City Hall.
Over 160 of them, working at universities and newsrooms across Canada, delivering the reports of Monday that have now caught the attention of City Hall.
On the other side of the discussion, Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain, with a bit of back up from Northern Health.
The Mayor opened his commentary at Monday's council session by reinforcing for Council and the public what he called the facts about the city's water supply, adding that the city does not have lead pipes and is not delivering lead to peoples homes, observing how the city has a naturally lower ph water system.
He observed that if you have lead pipes in your home, or if your home was built before 1990 when the plumbing code was updated, you are potentially at risk for having lead pipes and some leeching that may happen in your own home or commercial plumbing system.
Along the way, Mr. Brain also touched on one alarming theme of the report that compared some of the Prince Rupert results to those found in Flint Michigan.
"One of the comparisons that was made in the article was that we are somehow comparable to Flint, Michigan which is absolutely a misrepresentation of the issue. The issue in Flint, Michigan which is tragic and a very acute health crisis, is that Flint Michigan had nothing but lead pipes in the water system itself, and the residents had no choice but to have lead delivered to their home. Where in Prince Rupert we don't have lead pipes in our water system through the city. So those are two fundamentally different issues and so comparing us to that, we believe is an unfair juxtaposition"
The Mayor also took up the theme of the data that the report featured and explained how the city believes the report does not accurately reflect the situation in Prince Rupert.
"On top of that, another issue that came out, was they compared some numbers around some of the data that came out around of the lead levels and unfortunately the media took the first flush data, which is when you first turn on the tap after the water has been sitting for a lengthy period of time. Which unfortunately doesn't actually represent what home owners are actually exposed to, because after you turn on the tap and it runs cold, the lead levels run well below the Health Canada guidelines, which the media's own data actually proves as well"
The mayor called the approach taken by the media in the reports as a misrepresentation and something akin to comparing apples to oranges, adding how the city did not believe that it was a fair representation.
The remainder of his short update provided another review of the city's plans moving forward on its water infrastructure, with Mr. Brain making note of the plans to build a new dam and then move on to the third phase of a water treatment facility.
For the most part, the main advice from the city in the wake of these reports seems to be, if in doubt about the water in your home run the taps until what comes out is cold, cold, cold.
He observed that if you have lead pipes in your home, or if your home was built before 1990 when the plumbing code was updated, you are potentially at risk for having lead pipes and some leeching that may happen in your own home or commercial plumbing system.
Along the way, Mr. Brain also touched on one alarming theme of the report that compared some of the Prince Rupert results to those found in Flint Michigan.
"One of the comparisons that was made in the article was that we are somehow comparable to Flint, Michigan which is absolutely a misrepresentation of the issue. The issue in Flint, Michigan which is tragic and a very acute health crisis, is that Flint Michigan had nothing but lead pipes in the water system itself, and the residents had no choice but to have lead delivered to their home. Where in Prince Rupert we don't have lead pipes in our water system through the city. So those are two fundamentally different issues and so comparing us to that, we believe is an unfair juxtaposition"
The Mayor also took up the theme of the data that the report featured and explained how the city believes the report does not accurately reflect the situation in Prince Rupert.
"On top of that, another issue that came out, was they compared some numbers around some of the data that came out around of the lead levels and unfortunately the media took the first flush data, which is when you first turn on the tap after the water has been sitting for a lengthy period of time. Which unfortunately doesn't actually represent what home owners are actually exposed to, because after you turn on the tap and it runs cold, the lead levels run well below the Health Canada guidelines, which the media's own data actually proves as well"
The mayor called the approach taken by the media in the reports as a misrepresentation and something akin to comparing apples to oranges, adding how the city did not believe that it was a fair representation.
The remainder of his short update provided another review of the city's plans moving forward on its water infrastructure, with Mr. Brain making note of the plans to build a new dam and then move on to the third phase of a water treatment facility.
For the most part, the main advice from the city in the wake of these reports seems to be, if in doubt about the water in your home run the taps until what comes out is cold, cold, cold.
As well, if you can afford it, take your water in for testing, replace your pipes and then await the arrival of the final stage of the city's water plan to arrive at some point in the future.
When according to Mayor Brain, 99.9 percent of our issues will apparently be solved.
When according to Mayor Brain, 99.9 percent of our issues will apparently be solved.
As part of the commentary, residents were directed to explore the city's website and a special page that has been put in place related to drinking water in the community.
A full overview of the Mayor's rebuttal can be reviewed from our Council Timeline feature, while the video presentation of his themes is available from the Council Video archive.
The commentary begins at the sixteen minute mark.
A full overview of the Mayor's rebuttal can be reviewed from our Council Timeline feature, while the video presentation of his themes is available from the Council Video archive.
The commentary begins at the sixteen minute mark.
When it comes to water and water infrastructure, the City has had some past stumbles on themes of message delivery to the public.
As we noted in our opening paragraph, it was just less than one year ago that the community was put on a Boil Water Notice, an issue unrelated to lead, but one which sent Prince Rupert residents to setting their stoves on the high boil for week, after week, after week.
Six of them in fact.
Six of them in fact.
Other Rupertites made regular pilgrimages to the stores for bottled water, or put up the money for expensive in house filter systems making for a holiday boom time for plumbers across the city.
And as we remember it, in the end, the Boil Order Notice was something that may not have been required, mainly because no one thought to get a second opinion from a different lab from that of the original testing results.
So the Mayor and Council might want to keep some of that history in mind, for if they do hear concerns from the public as to whether the City has a handle on these water themes, that burden does come somewhat earned from those moments of the past.
As for his comments from Monday night, the Mayors approach of questioning the testing and findings of the media collective, might have carried a bit more weight had he stated them to Global TV when they had asked him for an interview.
An interview, which according to the television network he declined at the time.
Instead, Monday's comments, much like the water coming out of our taps at home, was something it seems that was more for local consumption.
Whether they were reassuring words or not, depends on what the water is like at your place.
We imagine that those residents who were tested and provided the disturbing "Flint like" news by those conducting the investigation for their report, (and a group of residents not mentioned by anyone on Council on Monday evening); probably aren't likely to be heading to the sink for a glass of Prince Rupert's supply any time soon.
We imagine that those residents who were tested and provided the disturbing "Flint like" news by those conducting the investigation for their report, (and a group of residents not mentioned by anyone on Council on Monday evening); probably aren't likely to be heading to the sink for a glass of Prince Rupert's supply any time soon.
For more items of interest related to Prince Rupert City Council see our archive page here.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review.
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