Sodium hydroxide in drinking water requires more consultation, resident says

A woman who lives in the proposed test area for adding sodium hydroxide to drinking waterin Thunder Bay, Ont.,says she is against the move.

The city said it will add the chemical in lowquantitiesto the water supply for 600 homes to reduce lead levels in drinking water.The chemical which in much higher concentrations is corrosive and used to make cleansers and process metals will be injected right at thepumpingstation. In small amounts, it is accepted by the World Health Organization for drinking water treatment.

• CBC News in Depth: What experts say about lead in water pipes

ButRhondaHanahsaid she feels the city did not have enough public consultation, before deciding to go ahead with the test.

"There areother alternatives ... I think that it's something that we should talk about," she said.

"There certainly weren't any incentives when we replaced our pipes," Hanahadded. "Maybe there could be incentives for water filtration systems."

Homeowners north of Arundel Street and west of Hodder Avenue have been told toexpect to have sodium hydroxide added to their water later this year.

The chemical will raise the pH levels in the water, making it too basic, Hanahsaid, adding the province should not force the city to do this test, as Thunder Bay already has good water.

"There hasn't been transparency in relation to this," she said."We have an excellent water filtration system.Considering we're living in a time where water is becoming a really serious resource, worldwide, it's really incumbent on us to protect it."

Lead pipes still in thousands of homes

About 7,500 to 8,000 homes inThunderBay are thought to still have older lead pipes connecting them to the city's water mains. When water sits in those so-called service pipes for a while, it can accumulate lead, eliciting readings above the Ontario Environment Ministry guideline of 0.01 milligrams per litre.

A city official told CBC Newspart of the problem is that most of those service pipes are on are on private property, and the city can't force homeowners to upgrade their connections to newer copper piping. The Ministry of the Environmentsaidthe city must put something inplace that will limitthe amount of lead that leaches into the water.

Thunder Bay has previously used awareness campaigns to urgehomeowners to get rid of lead water pipes, which are generally found in homes built before 1952.

To make the change from lead to copperlines and pipes on their properties, homeowners must pay the construction and plumbing costs, which vary widely depending on the house but can rise to$2,000 for a service line and $1,500 for internal plumbing.

A petition against adding the chemical to the waterhas been created, and can be found here. There is also ahard copy version of the petitionat Kelly's Nutrition on Red River Road.

The city will host a public open house on the matter on Thursday Sept. 17, beginning at 6 p.m.,at the Current River Recreation Centre.