Yellowknife — August 20, 2026
The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) has received lead testing results for Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita. Testing has confirmed that one water fixture shows lead levels above the maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) set out in the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. As a result, the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer (OCPHO) has issued a Public Health Order for the school.
Effective immediately, the affected water fixture at Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita will be out of service, and an alternative drinking water source will be provided, where it is not already in place.
The GNWT is taking the following steps to address the issue:
- Identify and implement remediation measure for the affected water fixture, such as replacing the fixture or installing a filter.
- Once all corrective measures are completed, follow-up testing will be carried out and reported to the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer for health risk assessment.
- Use of the affected fixture will only resume once new safety systems are in place, testing confirms the water meets all health standards, and approval is provided by the OCPHO.
Water testing at Chief Albert Wright School in Tulita is part of the GNWT’s commitment to test drinking water in every school in the territory.
The GNWT will support an Education Body that chooses to safely provide alternate drinking water as a precaution while testing and remediation continue. The GNWT will reimburse reasonable, cost-effective expenses so that no school hesitates to act out of concern for budget impacts.
The GNWT remains committed to ensuring safe drinking water in all schools and will continue monitoring systems, conducting regular testing, and sharing updates as the territory-wide testing program progresses.
This is the final school to be tested. The GNWT will provide updates on mitigation progress and next steps for testing by the end of August. As testing at schools is complete the GNWT will be working to assess next steps for lead testing in assets outside of schools; more information will be provided when details are finalized.
Related Links
- Lead Testing in JK-12 School Drinking Water
- Drinking Water Lead Testing in NWT Schools: Procedure for the Design, Collection, Analysis and Testing of Lead in Drinking Water for Northwest Territories Schools
- WSCC Worker’s Report of Injury Form
- Monitoring and Testing of Water in the NWT
For media requests, please contact:
Communications
Department of Infrastructure
Government of the Northwest Territories
