Get the Lead out

Way back on December 15, the Mayor of Monmouth told everyone to get their lead levels checked for FREE if your house was built before 1948. Hopefully, you listened.

It seems that Enwin is only going to do exactly what is provincially mandated for them to do, and therefore is not going to notify any neighbours of the participating households who tested high for lead content in their municipal water. According to todays Windsor Star...

"Sylvia de Vries, the spokeswoman for Enwin Utilities and the Windsor Utilities Commission, said only the homeowners who volunteered for the provincially mandated testing will receive the results."

I just got my water checked out yesterday (it took about a week after calling for an appointment) so I don't have any results to pass along to my fellow Walkerville residents, but I highly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity. Obviously, if the province didn't overwhelmingly believe there was a problem, do you honestly think they would be doing this for free?

"Lead exposure has been linked to delays in physical and mental development. Excessive exposure can seriously injure the brain, nervous system, red blood cell development and kidneys. It can potentially cause mental retardation, seizures, comas and even death, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health."

Ms. de Vries is offering different dates that the Mayor of Monmouth stated in his blog, so to be safe, please take the earlier ones to be sure you are able to get your water tested.

"She said 110 Windsor homes will be tested in this current round, which runs from Jan. 7 to Feb. 9. Another 110 will be tested in July or August. The cycle will then be repeated at six-month intervals for two years."

So heed the advice of your M.O.M.: To make an appointment, please call the W.U.C. telephone Center. The trick is to call now because free testing is only going to take place between December 15, 2007 and April 15, 2008. To ensure participation you have to call this number now. (519) 255-2727. Please select option 3