Water quality testing – lead service lines

Health Canada has updated the national guidelines for lead in drinking water by decreasing the amount of allowable lead in drinking water to 0.005 mg/L or less determined by a water sample taken from the home tap, by a certified professional. 

View National Guidelines Here 

Most homes in Selkirk are not impacted by lead in drinking water.

How to tell if you have lead pipes

Lead water pipes are usually a dull gray colour. You can confirm it’s a lead pipe by gently scratching the surface with a coin. If it’s lead, scratching the pipe will leave a shiny silver metal mark.

Copper water pipes are usually a bronze, bright or dark orange colour and are made of a very hard material. Scratching a copper pipe with a coin will leave a faint bronze coloured mark.

Image credit: City of Winnipeg

The only way to test for elevated lead concentrations is at the tap.

The City of Selkirk is offering free water quality testing to citizens who have lead service lines. 

To determine if your service line is lead or not, please see “do I have a lead service line” above. 

If your line is lead, a water quality test can be booked below.

City staff will conduct a test at tap and send it away for testing. Once the results are available, a letter will be sent to you in the mail. 

All sample results will be provided via a letter mailed to your home. 

If results are elevated, the following will be provided:

1. A copy of the provincial fact sheet 
2. Information on purchasing NSF-certified point-of-use treatment devices in your community; and
3. Information on lead service line replacement, if applicable. 

Homeowner Responsibility

The pipe that connects the home to the shut-off valve at the property line. 

City Responsibility

The pipe that connects the city watermain to the shut-off valve at the property line. 

Any time the city is replacing a water main, service line or fixing a leak on city-owned pipes, property owners will be given the opportunity to replace their part of the service line at the same time so they can benefit from any potential cost savings.

Licensed contractors in Selkirk 

Bonded and insured to perform water and sewer work. 

If elevated levels of lead is detected in your drinking water through water quality testing, the most cost-effective way to reduce lead at the tap is to purchase a pitcher-type filter or point-of-use filter that can be installed on kitchen taps and are NSF-certified to reduce lead to acceptable levels.

Other options include:

• Distillation units
• Reverse osmosis units
• Flushing your plumbing system before consuming any water that has been standing in your pipes for more than six hours, as standing water can absorb metals from the pipes.

• • You can flush your system by running your tap for up to 10 minutes, flushing the toilet, taking a shower or starting a load of laundry.
  • After flushing, fill containers with water and keep them in the fridge for drinking.
• Use cold water for cooking and drinking, as hot tap water can absorb trace metals from water pipes.
• Clean faucet aerators to remove any particles and sediment that may have collected in the aerator screen.
• PIPE REPLACEMENT (if it’s lead) that runs from your home up to the shut-off valve (usually at your property line). This work must be performed by a licensed contractor permitted to do the work.

Licensed contractors in Selkirk 

Bonded and insured to perform water and sewer work.