Gjoa Haven says water situation not an emergency despite disruptions
Boil water advisory still in place a week after pipe leak discovered
Gjoa Haven officials say crews are working around the clock to repair a leak between Swan Lake and the treatment plant discovered on Jan. 15, as well as deliver water. The community is not facing a health and safety emergency, hamlet officials say, as there is still snow to boil and drink or use. (Photo by Nehaa Bimal)
Water deliveries and a boil water advisory are continuing in Gjoa Haven as crews work to repair a leak in the water line discovered Jan. 15.
On Thursday, the hamlet said on Facebook a “breakthrough” was reached and community-wide water deliveries had begun.
Two trucks were circulating street by street filling each home’s water tank, and a third truck was expected to join the effort Thursday evening.
Deliveries could take until Friday to reach every home and drivers would work in eight-hour shifts through the night, the Facebook post said.
Ice was delivered to elders Thursday, and the hamlet posted pick-up locations on Facebook.
Officials also said Thursday they expect to return to normal water delivery schedules in three to four days. Nunatsiaq News was unable to reach the hamlet office, which closed Friday afternoon due to a blizzard.
The Department of Health issued the boil water advisory Jan. 16, after the discovery of the leaking water line between Swan Lake and the community’s water treatment plant the day before.
The community’s water conservation measures and boiling snow for water do not constitute a “health and safety emergency,” said the hamlet on Facebook.
“There is no health and safety ‘emergency’ in the community if there is no drinking water when there is snow,” it said in another Facebook post Wednesday.
To protect the water treatment plant, the hamlet said it was moving water from the lake pumphouse to the plant to prevent the system from freezing. That work reduced the number of trucks available for household deliveries.
“It would be a disaster if we lost the water treatment plant,” it said.
“This is inconvenient, uncomfortable, but not an emergency,” the hamlet said, adding that it is working with Government of Nunavut Emergency Services, the Tunngavik Federation of Nunavut and public health.
The hamlet reminds residents that a boil water advisory remains in place.
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