Lead in water

Lead service area with electoral boundaries

Red areas indicate locations where homes and buildings may have lead water pipes

Lead is a common, natural metal found throughout the environment. Lead can be harmful if too much of it enters the body. Before experts knew it could be harmful, lead was used in many products, such as gasoline, paint, solder, pottery, crystal and plumbing hardware. It cannot be seen, tasted or smelled in drinking water.

Health Canada has updated the national guidelines for lead in drinking water to make drinking water even safer by decreasing the amount of allowable lead in drinking water to 0.005 mg/L or less.

Winnipeg's water continues to be safe to consume and meets established guidelines. The City of Winnipeg is offering free water quality testing to residents who may have lead water pipes through its lead water quality testing program.

The results of these tests can be found at winnipeg.ca/leadtestresults

Please note that the City of Winnipeg does NOT go door-to-door to offer water testing.

If you want more information on the effect of lead on your health, please:

Most homes within Winnipeg are not impacted by lead in drinking water because:

Homes built before the mid-1950s may have lead pipes. (How to tell if you have lead pipes)

Some homes may have lead solder connections or water taps made out of brass and chrome-plated brass. Prior to 1989, lead solder was widely used to connect water pipes.

Was this information helpful?

How can we make this web page better?

Information collected will be used to improve our website. Do not use this form to submit a request for service or information because it will not be forwarded to departments for response. To submit a request for service or information, contact 311.

This form is not intended to collect personal information; however, any personal information you choose to include in your comments is collected by the City of Winnipeg under the authority of section 36(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for the purpose of improving our website and will not be used or disclosed for any other purposes, except as authorized by law. Contact the Corporate Access and Privacy Officer by mail (City Clerk’s Department, Susan A. Thompson Building, 510 Main Street, Winnipeg MB, R3B 1B9) or by telephone (311) if you have any questions about the collection of this information.

Ces renseignements sont-ils utiles?

Comment pourrait-on améliorer cette page Web?

Les renseignements recueillis serviront à l’amélioration de notre site Web. Prière de ne pas se servir de ce formulaire pour soumettre une demande de service ou de renseignements, car la demande ne sera pas transmise au service en question. Pour soumettre une demande de service ou de renseignements, veuillez communiquer avec le 311.

Le présent formulaire ne vise pas à recueillir des renseignements personnels. Cependant, les renseignements personnels que vous choisissez d’inclure dans vos commentaires sont recueillis par la Ville de Winnipeg en conformité avec l’alinéa 36(1)b) de la Loi sur l’accès à l’information et la protection de la vie privée dans le but d’améliorer son site Web et ne seront ni utilisés ni divulgués pour d’autres raisons, sauf dans les cas où cela est autorisé par la loi. Communiquez avec l’agent de l’accès à l’information et de la protection de la vie privée de la Ville par courrier au Bureau du greffier, immeuble Susan-A.-Thompson, 510, rue Main, Winnipeg (Manitoba) R3B 1B9, ou par téléphone au 311 si vous avez des questions sur la collecte de ces renseignements.