The City of Portage la Prairie is asking residents to take part in its annual random daytime lead testing program.
The initiative helps the city meet provincial regulations and aims to better understand the risks of lead exposure in residential drinking water systems.
Each year, 40 home samples are required. The city is prioritizing homes built before 1975, with a focus on properties constructed before 1950 that may still have lead service lines.
Testing is free, and the results are shared only with the homeowner and provincial health officials.
Targeting older homes
Jared Smith, Water Treatment Division Manager for the city, says the city is especially looking at homes that may still contain outdated plumbing components.
“There’s about 300 known homes in Portage that have lead service lines. So those are one of the prime ones that we'd like to test, but any homes built before 1975 could have lead solder and perhaps lead fixtures, which could add some lead to the water,” Smith notes. “The water in the main lines sent from the plant meets the provincial guidelines. However, in some cases lead will pick up in people's personal service lines—from the main line to their house—and inside the house.”
How the process works
Homeowners who volunteer receive a test kit, fill out a form, and take water samples from their main drinking tap. City staff handle both delivery and pickup.
“If you volunteer your home to be tested for lead, you’ll be contacted. Then we’ll deliver a test kit. You’ll fill out the paperwork and take the samples from your main drinking tap, and we’ll pick it up the next morning,” Smith says.
Next steps if lead is detected
If elevated lead levels are found, the city will return for a second test and offer guidance to reduce exposure.
“If a homeowner does end up with a high lead level that's over the provincial guideline of 0.005 milligrams per litre, we'll retest the home as required by Manitoba Health. If it’s still over the guideline, we give information to the homeowner about how to mitigate the problem,” Smith adds. “One of the easiest ways is to install a lead filter—similar to what a Brita filter does—that absorbs the lead under the water before you drink it.”
Privacy and water system improvements
Smith emphasizes that the program protects personal information.
“The results are confidential and your name and home address will not be given to the public. Only you and Manitoba Health receive them. The closest the public will get is a map that might show your city block, with an indication of whether it’s high or low in that block,” Smith continues.
The data also helps the city’s water treatment team improve long-term water safety strategies.
“It gives us at the water treatment plant some information that we can use to help improve our corrosion control program. There are ways to mitigate the corrosiveness of water, like adjusting the pH to make it less aggressive,” Smith remarks.
Now in its fourth year, the lead testing program continues to support safer drinking water and more informed homeowners.
Portage la Prairie’s water treatment plant is set to undergo a $100.5 million expansion to improve water quality, reliability, and capacity. The new plant will feature advanced technologies like ultrafiltration membranes and reverse osmosis, helping reduce water hardness and chlorine byproducts. The expansion will increase capacity from 25 million to 55 million liters per day, supporting future growth. Construction is expected to finish by 2028.
To volunteer before the June 20, 2025 deadline, residents can contact the city’s Operations Department at 204-239-8346 or email operations@city-plap.com.
The Province of Manitoba website provides additional details on lead guidelines: www.gov.mb.ca/sd/water/drinking-water/lead/index.html.