Montreal announces ambitious plan to rid water of lead

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has announced an ambitious new plan to remove all of the city’s lead water pipes. The new strategy comes on the heels of an investigation from Global News, Le Devoir and Concordia’s Institute for Investigative Journalism.

“Our goal is to truly eliminate lead from the territory of Montreal by truly tackling this problem,” Plante told reporters on Wednesday at city hall.

The city’s water network has tens of thousands of lead pipes delivering water to homes across the island. Buildings with eight units or less constructed before 1970 are the ones most likely to have lead service lines.

Lisa Marie Noel and David Bruneau have been living in a home with a lead service line in Rosemont for a decade.

“You would think the city could at least give water that is safe to drink,” Noel told Global News this summer.

Bruneau and Noel have lead levels in their water three times higher than what Health Canada deems acceptable. They found out the extent of the problem at their home after journalists from Global News , Le Devoir and the Institute for Investigative Journalism independently tested their water. Twenty-three homes were tested by the consortium of reporters.

READ MORE: Investigation reveals dangerous lead levels in some Quebec drinking water

“Of course we would have changed something, we would have had water filters since the beginning,” said Bruneau.

The problem is the pipes.

The lead service line is the pipe between the home and the city water network. The lead leeches into the water and can create a host of health problems. Noel had to be hospitalized with high blood pressure during her first pregnancy. a condition that has been associated with lead.

“I wonder if it’s that or not,” she told Global News.  “We will never know, but of course now it’s something I think about.”

READ MORE: Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante will require households to replace lead water pipes

Plante spoke of the action plan and defended the city’s policy on lead pipes in an exclusive interview Monday at city hall.

“Montreals has always been proactive and responsible with how we manage water. Let’s not forget that throughout the years science has evolved, what governments are deciding to do evolves,” she said.

On Wednesday, she formally announced the city’s plan .

“Our first priority is to accelerate the detection of lead service lines. Our operation will be completed by 2022,” Plante told reporters at a press conference.

In the next three years, the city’s goal is to test the water of 100,000 at-risk buildings. Lead pipes may be providing drinking water to as many as 300,000 people.

“If you take a little risk, multiply that by 200,000 or 300,000, you have a pubic health issue that needs to be dealt with,” said David Kaiser of Montreal Public Health.

READ MORE: Quebec to adopt national standard for testing lead in drinking water

There is a new page on the city of Montreal website where you can enter your address and see if you’re likely to have lead pipes.

“Should the presence of a lead service line be detected, the city will provide a filtration device for one year to make more precautions,” Plante said.

The most expensive part of the $557-million plan is changing an estimated 48,000 pipes by 2030. The city will change their side, but now will also force private home owners to change theirs. The cost to homeowners can vary between $2,500 and $5,000.

“Just like you have to replace your roof, you have to change your pipes,” Plante said.

The city is offering to do the work for homeowners, and then people will have to pay them back for it.

“It’s a big burden on our budget,” Plante said of the action plan. “It’s a tricky one. That being said, I do believe its the right thing to do.”

The city says people with lead pipes should run their water before drinking it, clean their tap aerator, and only use cold water for cooking.

Story by:

Dan Spector — Global News

Institute for Investigative Journalism, Concordia University

Le Devoir

Brigitte Tousignant, Ian Down, Miriam Lafontaine — Institute for Investigative Journalism, Concordia University

Investigative reporting team, Concordia University:

Michael Bramadat-Willcock

Mia Anhoury, James Betz-Gray, Thomas Delbano, Elaine Genest, Adrian Knowler, Mackenzie Lad, Benjamin Languay, Franca Mignacca, Jon Milton, Matthew Coyte, Katelyn Thomas, Ayrton Wakfer

Production team, Le Devoir: 

Project editor: Veronique Chagnon

Reporters: Annabelle Caillou, Améli Pineda

Intern: Lea Sabbah

Institute for Investigative Journalism, Concordia University:

Series producer and faculty supervisor: Patti Sonntag

Research coordinator: Michael Wrobel

Project coordinator: Colleen Kimmett

Produced by the Institute for Investigative Journalism, Concordia University