Auditor general plans to review Nunavut’s drinking water management

The Office of the Auditor General of Canada is planning to examine how drinking water is managed in Nunavut, amid years of problems with the territory’s water infrastructure.

The audit is expected to be released in 2027, but its scope, methodology and timeline have not yet been finalized, wrote Vincent Frignon, a spokesperson for the auditor general’s office, in an email.

The review comes as Nunavut continues to face challenges maintaining reliable access to safe drinking water. 

A 2024 report by Nunatsiaq News found that only eight of the territory’s 25 water treatment plants passed their most recent public health inspections without health or safety deficiencies. The other 17 had issues ranging from chlorine management and testing problems to inadequate operator training.

Five communities had no certified water-treatment operators at the time of those inspections, while Naujaat, Coral Harbour and Baker Lake were under public health orders to address deficiencies.

In addition, Gjoa Haven experienced a nearly seven-month boil-water advisory this year after a break was discovered in January along the six-kilometre water main that connects Swan Lake to the community’s treatment plant. 

Kugaaruk’s water-treatment plant was disabled in December 2025 after seawater entered the system during an unusually high tide last December, prompting military assistance.

Pangnirtung declared a state of emergency in September 2025 after its water treatment plant stopped producing water. 

The City of Iqaluit declared a state of emergency in late 2021 after fuel was detected in its water supply. The problem arose again in January 2022. Ultimately it would take 18 months for the city’s water plant to come back online in April 2023.

People in Sanikiluaq haven’t been able to drink their municipal water since 2016 because of salinity concerns.

Boil water advisories remained in place as of Tuesday in Igloolik, Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay.

Back in Iqaluit, the city announced an emergency water shutdown in the Plateau area on Tuesday because of an unspecified urgent infrastructure issue, which has also triggered a precautionary boil-water advisory for affected residents.

The territory’s 2023 Drinking Water Strategic Framework estimated that addressing its water-treatment infrastructure deficit would cost $605 million.

The document also called for updated drinking-water regulations, more training for water plant operators and a certification board.