While it turns out some homes in Portage la Prairie have been dealing with lead in drinking water, it only takes about five minutes to solve the problem.

The City of Portage announced the results from the 2022 water system random daytime residential lead testing. Councillor Faron Nicholls says that 28 per cent of samples were above the newly published guideline limit of 0.005 mg/L. Once the houses that provided those samples flushed their taps for five minutes, not a single sample was above the limit.

"The participation by the residents has been overwhelming, to the point where we received all our samples and testing spots," says Nicholls. "The results from them in terms of the lead guidelines and all other information is posted on our website."

According to the city's website, they were required to select 40 sample locations, but they received responses from over 100 homeowners. 80 per cent of the samples were taken from homes on eight streets from either side of Tupper Street and two blocks north or south of Saskatchewan Avenue. The other selections were scattered throughout Portage.

"We're going to call put the call out again (this year)," explains Nicholls. "And, we'll have enough people that volunteered last year, that we're going to establish them in the first part of our list this year."

Those who are unsure if they have lead water service lines should consult either a contractor or certified plumber.

City Council will meet next on Monday, February 13th.