FOR CBRM WATER UTILITY CUSTOMERS ONLY

Apply here to participate in CBRM's drinking water sampling program for lead and copper. This annual assessment program aims to determine if lead and copper are present in your tap water. The Water Utility routinely monitors water quality within our distribution systems. In 2020, Nova Scotia Environment introduced additional sampling requirements for lead and copper within customers homes.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM:

Although lead and copper can occur naturally in the environment, their main source in drinking water is through leaching of plumbing materials such as pipes, solder, faucets, and fittings. While copper is an acceptable material for use in plumbing, lead is no longer an acceptable building material. The National Plumbing Code allowed lead material in pipes until 1975, lead in solder until 1986, and lead in fittings/faucets until 2013.

In 2019, Health Canada lowered their Maximum Acceptable Concentration for lead in drinking water from 0.010mg/L to 0.005mg/L and introduced a new Maximum Acceptable Concentration for copper of 2 mg/L. They also changed the acceptable locations for sample collection. Samples for lead and copper must now be collected within homes and buildings where customers’ obtain water for drinking and cooking.