The NWT’s chief public health officer has ordered Kaw Tay Whee School in Dettah to stop using its water fixtures over concerns about elevated lead levels.
It’s at least the fourth NWT school to face some form of lead-related advisory this year, with the scale of the problem unfolding over months. Many schools still await testing.
In a news release issued just before 9:45pm on Tuesday, the NWT government said testing had confirmed “some water fixtures show lead levels above the maximum acceptable concentration” at Kaw Tay Whee School.
“Effective immediately, all water fixtures and the water fountain at Kaw Tay Whee School will be out of service,” the territory stated.
The exact details of the test results were not available.
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“The priority for protecting students and staff is addressing lead levels detected at multiple classroom sinks,” the GNWT stated.
“All drinking and food-related fixtures, including those that tested below the maximum acceptable concentration, are now out of service as a precaution. Safe alternative water sources are being provided to the school.”
The school’s water fountain is considered safe but “will also be out of service as a precaution,” the territory added.
Affected taps and fixtures will be replaced and under-sink filters installed where required, though no timeline for that work was stated.
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“Water service at the school will only resume once new safety systems are in place, testing confirms the water meets all health standards, and approval is provided by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer,” the GNWT stated.
Tests rolling out across NWT
The discovery of another school with elevated lead levels in its water comes after the territorial government started such tests in late 2024 but initially botched its sampling.
A third-party investigation into how those tests went wrong identified communication issues, delays and a lack of a robust, coordinated testing plan.
The investigators recommended that the NWT government roll out annual testing of drinking water in schools across the territory. The Kaw Tay Whee School tests appear to be the result of that program starting.
From October: NWT launches territory-wide school lead testing protocol
Elsewhere this year, tests as early as January found elevated lead levels in the drinking water of some Yellowknife schools, but the education minister and families were not notified until late May.
A new round of tests ultimately led the GNWT to start replacing fountains, faucets and food preparation fixtures at William McDonald Middle School and Range Lake North School, as well as components of five sinks at NJ Macpherson School, among other measures. (A do-not-consume order is still in place at NJ Macpherson School.)
While the territory has said blood testing of people connected to those schools has shown results within the normal range, some staff have queried the long-term effects on their health of years using fixtures that may have been contaminated with lead.
Paulatuk’s Angik School was recently tested and results were within guidelines, the GNWT stated in its late Tuesday news release. No other school results have been reported yet, beyond the Yellowknife results from the summer.
