Residents of Iqaluit who are still using the city’s water supply are being urged to boil their water for a full minute before consuming it, after Nunavut’s Health Department issued a boil-water advisory on Wednesday afternoon.
“The city has bypassed the water treatment plant due to recent contamination events,” the advisory stated.
“While the contamination levels were below the health screening values developed by Health Canada, the boil-water advisory is a precautionary measure because the water is not filtered through the normal water treatment processes.”
Residents should boil their tap water if they are using it to wash food, brush teeth, cook, prepare infant formula or juices, or make ice cubes. It should also be boiled for drinking.
In a separate news release issued Wednesday, the City of Iqaluit said the water, which is piped in from Lake Geraldine, will continue to be treated using UV and chlorine disinfection but will avoid contact with the city’s water treatment tanks.
It added the water may have a smell or taste, be slightly discoloured or have sediment in it.
Fuel odour returned
Iqaluit began investigating complaints last week that a fuel odour had returned to its tap water. On Monday, Mayor Kenny Bell told CBC News the city had received 116 phone calls from residents reporting the smell since Jan. 12.
“We think that may be just … a little bit of residual oil that was there,” said Bell.
Between October and December of last year, Iqaluit’s 8,000 residents spent almost two months under a do-not-consume order for city water because its water system had hydrocarbons in it.
Because of that, the city built a bypass at its water treatment plant — part of a list of requirements from the territorial government in order to lift the do-not-consume order.
As Iqaluit flushes its water treatment system, the city has been distributing clean water at the Elder’s Qammaq, a local drop-in centre. Residents can pick up water between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. until this Friday.
Health officials have said there are “trace amounts” of hydrocarbons in the city’s water supply but the levels are well below safety limits.
More Stories
Fair share: the right office solution can take finding the right partner
Ontario faces crew shortages, aircraft issues in fight against wildfires | Globalnews.ca
Refugee attends open house at Downtown Eastside affordable housing facility – BC | Globalnews.ca