Lead and Water Service Lines ~ Our Drinking Water is Safe and Clean
We take pride in providing safe and clean drinking water to our communities. Our extensive water testing throughout the water treatment process monitors colour, taste, and smell but the most important tests ensure that the water we deliver is safe for you and your family to drink.
Responsibility
Ownership of Service Lines – Who will pay to replace lead pipes?
How to Check Pipes
How to Check for a Lead Service Line
General Tips
General Tips for Good Water Quality
Questions? Contact Us
Questions? Contact Us
If you have questions or need more info, click here to get our contact info.
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
In March 2019, Health Canada published a new lead limit to the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, introducing two significant changes from how lead has been managed in drinking water since 1992.
- The maximum Acceptable Concentration was lowered from 0.010mg/L to 0.005mg/L
- Testing is now conducted at the customer’s tap instead of the distribution system
Sampling Locations
Addresses will be sorted into groups (strata) based on evidence and estimates of the concentration of lead customers may be exposed to—from high to low. The strata may correspond geographically to neighbourhoods or distribution zones defined by the presence of lead service lines, date of construction, or areas of greater water age (and potentially increased corrosivity). Since lead service lines are the largest contributing factor to lead, areas that are known or likely to have these should have the highest priority for sampling. The next priority will be homes without or unlikely to have a lead service line but likely to have lead-containing solder.
Addresses will be categorized into strata bases presence of lead service lines and potential lead concentrations at the tap. For example:
- Stratum 1 High: known lead service line (public or private)
- Stratum 2 Medium-High: probable lead service line (public or private) based on proximity to the known lead service line
- Stratum 3 Medium: construction before 1960
- Stratum 4 Low-Medium: construction after 1960 but before 1975, zones of greater water age
- Stratum 5 Low: construction post-1975
There are no measurable levels of lead in drinking water when it leaves our water treatment plant, but lead may be found in tap water for those homes with lead service line pipes, or fit is present in lead plumbing and fixtures inside your home. Therefore, all municipalities including Greenview have been mandated by Alberta Environment and Parks as well as Health Canada to develop a Lead Management Program that ensures compliance with the new proposed guidelines and mitigates exposure to lead associated with plumbing components within the communities that use our water distribution systems.
These communities include:
- DeBolt
- Grande Cache
- Grovedale
- Little Smoky
- Ridgevalley
- Valleyview Rural Water Line
To take our Lead Management Survey, which provides step by step instructions on how to check your water lines, please click the button to the left or visit: Greenview Lead Management Survey
Usage of Data Collection for Informed Consent
Voluntary participants are required to provide informed consent for the collection of personal information so the MD of Greenview may proceed with water sampling. Results and addresses will be disclosed to Alberta Environment and Parks as part of the required reporting under this program. The MD of Greenview will provide results to any resident living in a house where test results are above the maximum acceptable level set by Health Canada.
Please note that the MD of Greenview will not publish a household’s individual water test results publicly as we respect the privacy of the voluntary participants in the water testing program.
The personal information you provide is being collected under the authority of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, Potable Water Regulation 16(1) for the sole purpose of conducting the waterworks system lead survey of tap water. Please note that your tap water sample results and your address will be disclosed to Alberta Environment and Parks as part of required reporting under this program. Your personal information will not be shared further unless you provide additional consent to do so. By providing your tap water sample and personal information, you are consenting to this collection, use and disclosure. If you have any questions about this program or the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information, please contact the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Coordinator at 780.524.7600
