Our water is okay: Iqaluit

This dam above Iqaluit holds Lake Geraldine, the city’s water reservoir. After an environmental group gave Nunavut a “D” grade on it water protection systems, the City of Iqaluit assured residents Nov. 16 that the community’s drinking water is safe to drink. (FILE PHOTO)

The City of Iqaluit says its drinking water is safe to drink.

In a Nov. 16 public service announcement, city officials responded to a recently released report on water safety that gave the federal government a failing grade on drinking water quality standards.

Vancouver-based environmental watchdog group Ecojustice also graded each province and territory, giving Nunavut’s water protection systems a “D” grade.

While the report did not specifically mention the territory’s capital, Iqaluit says its water is “completely safe to drink.”

“Iqaluit is one of the few communities in the North that has a fully operational treatment plant,” read the PSA. “Drinking water is tested for bacteria and other contaminants on a daily basis. Monthly samples are also submitted to the territorial public health agency for testing.”

The PSA goes on to explain that water from Lake Geraldine is treated at the local water plant with ultra-violet light for disinfection, filtered through slow sand filters, chlorinated and held for 24 hours before it is released to the public.

The same water treatment plant passed a 2011 inspection by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, the federal department responsible for inspecting the city’s water license requirements.

“The city will continue to work with territorial and federal partners to further evolve Nunavut’s water management practices but for now, residents can have confidence that their drinking water is safe,” said the PSA.

The Ecojustice report gave decent and good grades to several provinces, including top marks to Ontario and Nova Scotia.

The report, which is released every five years, evaluates each province, territory and the federal government’s performance on treatment and testing requirements, drinking-water quality standards, source-water protection, and transparency and accountability.

With files from Postmedia News