Expected growth will put pressure on water system: report

DENISE RIDEOUT

The speedy growth of Iqaluit and the expected population increase over the next 20 years has put pressure on city engineers to make sure Iqaluit has a water supply big enough to meet residents’ needs.

The city is also expanding the water plant this year so it can treat more water, another urgent task needed to keep up with growth.

A water and sewer study released last week urges the City of Iqaluit to increase the water plant’s capacity and take a serious look at Lake Geraldine to determine if it has enough water to sustain the population.

The report, conducted by Trow Consulting Engineers Ltd. of Ottawa, examines the state of Iqaluit’s water and sewage system and points to upgrades required to meet the growing city’s demands. Iqaluit city council commissioned the report to determine which projects should take priority over the coming years.

Matthew Hough, director of engineering for the City of Iqaluit, said the new report tells city officials what work is most urgently needed on its water and sewer infrastructure, most of which was installed in the 1960s.

“This water and sewer study is very much a priority-setting document,” Hough said in an interview.

“We have already undertaken to address what we feel is the biggest priority, and that is the ability to safely treat water. The second is to ensure that we have enough water.”

The engineers point out the demand on Iqaluit’s water supply is already great, and it will only increase if the population reaches 11,300 by 2021, as it’s forecast to do.

According to data in the report, people who live in houses connected to utilidor pipes use about 277 litres of water per person per day. Houses that receive water by truck service use just 123 litres per person per day.

About 30 per cent of households still get their water delivered by water trucks, but when more houses connect to the utilidor system, water usage will go up.

That makes Hough’s eyes turn to Lake Geraldine, the source of water for Iqaluit, to see how much longer it can supply the city.

A dam built in the early 1960s stores raw water at the lake. It has been extended three times since then, with the last extension giving it the capacity to supply water to 6,202 people. Looking at population statistics, the engineers estimate it will reach its storage capacity by 2007.

Hough said the engineering department is gearing up to tackle the water source issue. He said there’s no question now about the lake running dry, but that may change down the road.

“We know by the fact that water is still spilling over the dam that we have enough water at the moment. We’re not drawing the dam down. We know we’re very comfortable there now. But, in the long term, the math shows that we’re not,” Hough said.

Another study, this one of the dam and watershed at Lake Geraldine, is getting under way. It will determine how much water is lost every year due to spillage over the dam.

“What we’re trying to determine is whether by raising the dam face again whether we can provide enough water for the 20-year horizon,” Hough said. “Otherwise, if we can’t and there’s not enough water coming into the reservoir area, then we’re going to have to look for another water source.”

Another matter the Trow engineers pressed city officials to work on is expanding the water plant so that it can treat more water.

The engineers noted the water plant is sometimes working beyond its capacity, meaning it can’t treat water fast enough to keep the storage reservoir full. Water in the reservoir, kept there for fire emergencies, sometimes dips below its 2.2 million litre requirement.

Hough said the city’s engineering department had been working on expanding the water plant even before the report came out with its warning.

“This year we’re addressing the issue of the water treatment plant capacity. That was our number one priority: the fact that we weren’t going to be able to treat enough water for the town,” he said.

“We’ll be adding additional filters and, in time, additional storage at the water treatment plant as well.” The project is being designed right now and, depending on capital dollars, will go into construction in the fall, he said.

More key work on the water plant, namely increasing the storage area for treated water, is required as well, the report says.

The treated water is stored in two water tanks and two wells located beneath the treatment plan and in the main storage reservoir next to the plant. But it can only hold enough water for 5,920 people.

That’s why, Hough says, finding more storage areas is top on the priority list.

The water and sewer study will serve as a guideline for city officials in tackling other infrastructure upgrades in the future.