Toronto, September 3 – Parents and caregivers should ask what schools are doing to prevent students from being exposed to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water, recommends the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA).
“No amount of lead is safe, especially for children,” said Julie Mutis, Community Outreach Worker at CELA. “Schools often test for lead over the summer months, but since the results aren’t always proactively shared, it is important for parents and caregivers to ask what that testing found and what schools are doing in response”
As children head back to school, CELA recommends three actions that parents and caregivers can take to help protect them from lead in drinking water:
Ask for information about recent lead testing
Demand that taps and fountains where lead is found be replaced, closed, or have a filter installed
Talk to their community about the need for action on lead in school drinking water
In March 2026, CELA released the report “‘F’ For Effort: Ontario is falling behind on getting lead out of schools drinking water,” which outlined how Ontario’s outdated lead in schools regulation is putting children’s health at risk.
“We know more about the dangers of lead than we did when Ontario’s rules were written, especially for children. Other provinces and territories are responding to this science, but Ontario has fallen behind,” said Mutis.
The report identified the top ten school boards and schools in the province that reported the highest number of lead exceedances in 2025-26.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Julie Mutis, Community Outreach Worker, Canadian Environmental Law Association, 1-844-755-1420 or 416-960-2284 ext. 7221 or julie@cela.ca
More resources about lead in school drinking water:
Media Release: Back to school means it’s time to ask about lead in school drinking water
Toronto, September 3 – Parents and caregivers should ask what schools are doing to prevent students from being exposed to dangerous levels of lead in their drinking water, recommends the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA).
“No amount of lead is safe, especially for children,” said Julie Mutis, Community Outreach Worker at CELA. “Schools often test for lead over the summer months, but since the results aren’t always proactively shared, it is important for parents and caregivers to ask what that testing found and what schools are doing in response”
As children head back to school, CELA recommends three actions that parents and caregivers can take to help protect them from lead in drinking water:
In March 2026, CELA released the report “‘F’ For Effort: Ontario is falling behind on getting lead out of schools drinking water,” which outlined how Ontario’s outdated lead in schools regulation is putting children’s health at risk.
“We know more about the dangers of lead than we did when Ontario’s rules were written, especially for children. Other provinces and territories are responding to this science, but Ontario has fallen behind,” said Mutis.
The report identified the top ten school boards and schools in the province that reported the highest number of lead exceedances in 2025-26.
For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Julie Mutis, Community Outreach Worker, Canadian Environmental Law Association, 1-844-755-1420 or 416-960-2284 ext. 7221 or julie@cela.ca
More resources about lead in school drinking water:
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