Federal government sends help to Kugaaruk amid water emergency

As Kugaaruk enters day four of its local state of emergency, the federal government is stepping in to help hamlet residents access safe drinking water.

Eleanor Olszewski, federal minister of emergency management and community resilience, announced the support Tuesday in a news release.

Unusually high tides, caused by this month’s supermoon, forced seawater into the hamlet’s water treatment facility Sunday. The plant immediately shut down, as it is designed to do in these instances.

The hamlet declared a local state of emergency Sunday soon after the problem was discovered.

Canadian Armed Forces members will be available to provide logistics for transportation, distribution and pumping of drinking water, Olszewski said in the release.

The request for federal help came from the Government of Nunavut, on behalf of the Hamlet of Kugaaruk.

Thousands of bottles of fresh water and pumping supplies arrived in the community Monday.

Meanwhile, trucks began delivering water from the treatment plant again as of Tuesday evening, according to a Facebook update from the hamlet.

At the same time, the Department of Health issued a public health advisory to not consume this water, as boiling it will not remove the contaminants.

Commercially sold filters, such as Brita filters, will not remove the contaminants either, said the advisory, which includes a specific warning to not use tap water to mix infant formula.

The water can be used for showering, cleaning or laundry.

Anybody who collects their own water from nearby sources, such as lakes or rivers, should bring that water to a rolling boil for one minute before consuming it.