Iqaluit residents left to collect river water
Officials say test results will take five days after contamination scare
residents filled blue plastic jugs and bottles Wednesday in the icecold Sylvia Grinnell River just outside the city after they were told tap water in the Nunavut capital may be unsafe to drink.
The city declared a local state of emergency Tuesday night saying its water supply could contain gasoline.
Some residents complained last week on social media about a fuel smell in the water, but the city said the water had gone through regular testing and was safe. The city then announced there was observed evidence of possible petroleum hydrocarbons, or fuel, at its water treatment plant.
City officials said water samples have been sent to a lab in Southern Canada, but noted it will take about five business days to get those results back.
The city made treated water available to residents Wednesday morning at a water filling depot station, but it still needs to be boiled.
Andrew Tagak Jr., who had several water jugs to fill, said he’s been able to get enough water for himself and the three other people in his household.
“As long as I know it’s fresh, I’m happy,” Tagak Jr. told The Canadian Press.
He said he noticed a smell in his water last week but didn’t think much about it.
“I didn’t know it was going to be petroleum hydrocarbons. I felt upset ... but now we got the water and maybe now we can move on,” said Tagak Jr.
Katie Hughes, another Iqaluit resident, said she thought there was a fuel smell in her water for the last week and a half.
“I feel like the city should have been doing tests two weeks ago and it’s their job to keep us safe,” Hughes said.
Christine Karkow said she was irritated when she learned there might be something wrong with Iqaluit’s water.
“There has been a lot of back and forth in the last week or so about whether it’s safe or not,” Karkow said.
City water trucks were also pumping water from the Sylvia Grinnell River late last night and early this morning.
Schools across Iqaluit were closed Wednesday and government offices shut down by early afternoon because of the water problem.
Both Arctic Ventures and Northmart, the city’s two major grocery stores, were out of bottled water by midday Wednesday. Both stores also sold out of plastic jugs.
In Iqaluit, like all of Nunavut’s communities, bottled water already sells at a high cost.
For example, a 40-pack of 500 ml bottles of water at Northmart typically sells for $48.79 before tax, while a 24-pack of water is $27.99.