Nunavut’s Health Dept. lifts water advisory for Rankin Inlet

Nunavut health officials lifted a boil water advisory for Rankin Inlet June 18. (PHOTO BY SARAH ROGERS)

Nunavut health officials lifted a boil water advisory for Rankin Inlet on Monday, June 18.

The Government of Nunavut’s Department of Health issued the alert June 7 as a “precautionary measure,” due to high turbidity levels, or cloudy water.

That notice came just weeks after residents reported brown- and yellow-coloured water flowing out of their taps.

Officials from the departments of Health and Community and Government Services had been looking into the cause of the discolouration and determined at the time that the water was safe to drink.

But even with the most recent advisory lifted, Rankin Inlet’s water woes are far from resolved.

Last fall, the GN put out a request for proposals for a feasibility study to look at the best options for replacing the community’s aging water infrastructure.

The piped system draws water from Lake Nipissar to a treatment centre on Williamson Lake before it’s distributed throughout the community.

But the system was first installed in the 1970s and now poses “many health and safety risks,” according to the GN.

That’s in addition to the threat posed by Lake Nipissar, the community’s freshwater source, which continues to deplete.

As a result, research has suggested the Kivalliq community could see water shortages in the months to come.