Nunavik community to test its water after fuel spill

Hydro-Québec laid out berms along this stream to collect any possible diesel fuel that might have leaked into water following an Aug. 1 spill from its local power plant. (SUBMITTED PHOTO)

Ivujivik has sent it first batch of samples from its coastline for testing, following a fuel spill in Nunavik’s northernmost community.

The goal is to determine how much the Aug. 1 spill that leaked more than 14,000 litres of fuel from the community’s Hydro-Québec power plant might have contaminated the natural water system.

“We can’t say it’s the biggest fuel spill we’ve seen, but we can say it’s contaminating the stream,” Ivujivik mayor Peter Iyaituk said Aug. 5. “[Hydro-Québec] is doing a good job cleaning up the land, but the bigger concern is the bay.”

“They say that it’s a floater and it will dissipate,” he said. “But our concern is that the tide goes up and down every six hours, and brings stuff in and out with it.”

The Hydro-Québec plant is located on the outskirts of the village of 370 on slightly higher ground than many surrounding homes.

So the fuel has flowed downhill into a stream, which empties into the bay, known for its rich marine life and seabird colonies.

The Northern Village — which would be called a hamlet in Nunavut — has taken its own samples of wildlife at the bay: specimens like seaweed and mussels, which have been sent to Kuujjuaq for testing.

Those preliminary results should give the community of an idea of the contamination levels in the bay, Iyaituk said.

Hydro-Québec said this week that “no trace of diesel has been found in Ivujivik Bay” below the power plant, and that “a small trace of fuel was detected in a drainage ditch near the power plant and the oil has been recovered.”

Hydro-Québec sent in crews Aug. 2 to assess the damage.

Using specialized equipment, such as absorbent socks, its employees are continuing to contain the diesel inside and outside of the plant.

And oil recovery basins are in place to collect contaminated water so that it can be filtered.

Municipal officials say the spill began sometime late Friday, July 31, although it wasn’t discovered until the following day.

“It wasn’t until fishermen were coming back to town that they could smell diesel as soon as they got back to the bay,” Iyaituk said.

“But eventually all the fuel ran out and the power went out.”

A Hydro-Québec employee based in Ivujivik, along with municipal staff, began looking for the source of the leak.

It appears to come from a filter on the facility’s generator, Iyaituk said.

“There was probably a crack in it,” he said. “The question is, what is a manufacturing issue or something else?”

No foul play is suspected in the incident.

Immediately following the spill, the Northern Village asked children to stay clear of the stream and bay, Iyaituk said.

But residents, including hunters and fishermen, have stayed clear of the area since the weekend, he said.

“No one will go down there to collect anything now,” he said. “We need to do more [sampling] first.”