The City of Saskatoon is postponing the replacement of lead pipes due to the financial costs of the pandemic and lockdown caused by the novel coronavirus.
But a health expert told Global News lead pipes increase the risk of a serious case of COVID-19.
A financial update, released on Monday evening, says the pandemic “has had wide and deep effects on City work and finances.”
The update also describes a new strategy to balance civic services with maintaining public health and reducing costs, which includes postponing the lead pipe replacement program scheduled for this summer.
Bruce Lanphear, a health sciences professor at Simon Fraser University and expert on environmental neurotoxins and lead poisoning, said in an email that “lead-service lines increase the risk for hypertension, a risk factor for a severe SARS CoV-2 infection.”
SARS CoV-2 is the formal name of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Matt Jurkiewicz, the construction and design director for the city, said the decision was made so contractors wouldn’t have to enter people’s homes during the lockdown.
He also said the move would help people save money because, even with the city deferring and helping with the costs, Saskatoon residents still must pay an up-front fee.
“We just thought during this time when there’s a lot of people at home and unemployed, $300 or $1,000 might be a little bit too much to bear,” he told Global News.
As first reported by Global News, in partnership with other outlets in November, municipal test results show some Saskatoon households with lead service lines had lead levels in their tap water higher than in similar homes with lead service connections in Flint, Mich., at the height of its water crisis in 2015.
The year-long investigation showed Saskatchewan has some of the highest measured levels of lead-tainted water in the country.
In Saskatoon the average amount of lead in the fourth litre out of the tap in the morning average 58 parts per billion (ppb).
In August 2015, the same types of homes in Flint, Mich., averaged 10 ppb.
Health Canada’s maximum acceptable limit is 5 ppb.
Last November Mayor Charlie Clark told Global News the city had an “aggressive” program to replace all of the lead pipes in the city by 2026.
That program is now postponed.
Jurkiewicz said it will resume once the pandemic ends but that he didn’t know when that would be.
He also said the city would still fix services lines and sewers “in really bad shape” and that it is still planning to replace all lead services lines by 2026.
The financial update said the city will “continue to do its part” to reduce overall spending and to address and make up for shortfalls by accessing the Fiscal Stabilization Reserve.
It also said there will be no changes to municipal taxes, previously set by city council to rise 3.8 per cent, despite a projected deficit of up to $42.9 million.
— With files from Katelyn Wilson and Gabriela Panza-Beltrandi.