Nunavut woman surprised to learn lead device was in her water tank for 'over 20 years'

Rhoda Nanook was alarmed when officials from the local housing authority started testing her home water tank for lead with little warning or explanation.

"After all these years, why now?" she asked. "It's kind of shocking to learn that you might have lead in your water supply."

Nanook lives in public housing with five others in Taloyoak, Nunavut, where there is a housing shortage. Her daughter Karen Nanook, who shares the house with her, has been on a housing wait list for 10 years.

In Taloyoak, water is trucked to houses and stored in home water tanks, like the Fiberglas Equinox-brand tank in Nanook's house.

Rhoda said workers with the Taloyoak Housing Authority first appeared around the beginning of February and took a small sample of her water for testing.

"They emptied it, they cleaned it out, and then it was refilled," said Rhoda in a call with CBC Feb. 4. "Now they're testing it again.

"The last one came yesterday, telling me he's taking a water sample in a small bottle. That's the last time I heard of them."

Rhoda and Karen have lived in the unit for more than 20 years, and aside from routine inspections, have never heard there was a risk of lead contamination in their water. The family uses it for cooking, and some in the household drink directly from the supply.

"That's a long time for something like this to start working in a human body," Rhoda said.

'Potential exposure'

In an email, Anna Kirbyson, a senior policy analyst with the Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC), which oversees local housing authorities, confirmed workers discovered lead floats "in a small number of public housing water tanks in Taloyoak" during routine inspections.

The lead float measures the amount of water in the tank and indicates when the tank is empty.

Kirbyson said testing found "no evidence of water toxicity," meaning the water wasn't poisonous. However, she acknowledged there was some "potential exposure" to lead.

Lead can be harmful to children's development even below toxic levels, according to Health Canada. Potential exposure means small amounts could have been in Rhoda and Karen's water as long as the device had been installed.

In a written response to questions from CBC, a spokesperson for the Health Department advised "all residents of homes that had lead floats to have their blood lead level measured" at their local health office.

"In the absence of blood testing, it is not possible to reliably measure or comment on the degree of exposure that any resident may have experienced," their response reads.

It's not clear from the housing corporation's response whether the device is made of lead, or if it began leaching lead as it aged.

The Health Department advised Nunavummiut in government-owned housing to "contact their local [housing authority] to confirm their water tank has been inspected."

Float in tank since 'early '90s'

Karen said the device in their tank has been there "since the early '90s."

"The lead floats were removed immediately, and the tanks were flushed and replaced with new water," Kirbyson wrote. "Water from the units affected is now safe to drink."

The housing corporation would not respond to questions on why the lead floats were not noticed earlier, citing residents' confidentiality.

Rhoda said, aside from a letter explaining her water was being tested for lead, the family hasn't received any more information from the housing authority.

Karen said they haven't been told how much lead leached into the water or how long she and her family could have been affected.

"Tenants in the affected units were notified immediately and NHC provided a letter explaining the issue, and the steps taken to rectify the situation," Kirbyson said.

According to Kirbyson, the hamlet's water is typically tested for lead at the source once a year and, legally, must be tested every two years minimum.

If the testing finds lead in the water, the Department of Health issues a "do not consume" order.