Gjoa Haven water meeting is a chance to press for accountability, resident says

A Gjoa Haven resident says he plans to press hamlet and territorial officials on accountability and emergency preparedness at a public meeting Thursday night, as a three-month water disruption continues in the community of about 1,400 people.

“The community is divided because of the misinformation and finger-pointing, and the hamlet needs to do better as they represent our community,” Greg Nahaglulik said in a Facebook message.

Gjoa Haven has been under a boil water advisory since Jan. 19, when the pipe connecting the hamlet’s drinking water source to its water treatment plant broke.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at the community hall, announced Nunavut Emergency Management, the territorial government’s emergency response body, on Facebook earlier this week.

It’s meant to address the “water service disruption” and ongoing repairs to the hamlet’s water main, the post said.

Some of the officials expected to attend are Kyle Seeley, deputy minister of Transportation and Infrastructure; Kristie Cronin, deputy minister of Community Services; Dr. Ekua Agyemang, Nunavut’s chief public health officer; and John Coyne, director of Nunavut Emergency Management.

Agyemang said the meeting is meant to explain the situation and reassure residents.

“I believe the purpose is to go on radio and have a community meeting just to try to explain the situation and also to show that the Government of Nunavut cares about the situation that is happening there,” she said in an interview Tuesday.

Agyemang said it is important to distinguish that Gjoa Haven is under a boil water advisory, not a do-not-consume order.

Until the water main is fixed, trucked water is treated with chlorine before being delivered to homes, and is safe to drink, but it must be boiled first.

“[Boiling water] is effective in killing germs that might still be in after the chlorination of the water and it’s safe for them to use the water after it’s been boiled for drinking,” Agyemang said.

Still, some residents have raised concerns about discoloured tap water, describing a yellow tinge, slimy texture and foul smell.

Agyemang said more information and testing would needed to determine what is causing this.

“I’d have to see and I’ll need more information like, where is this water coming from? Where is it being stored? How long has it been there? What else was added to the water? It could be many things making the water appear that way,” she said.

Officials from Nunavut Emergency Management did not respond to questions about the meeting.

Meanwhile, in Gjoa Haven, Nahaglulik said he wonders if the hamlet could have done more to respond to the situation.

“Why did it take so long for them to even consider a state of emergency?” he said in a Facebook message.

Mayor Raymond Quqshuun said in a March 2 Facebook update that it wasn’t necessary to declare a local state of emergency because emergency management officials had advised that it would not result in additional water shipments, and the water is considered safe when boiled.

— with files from Daron Letts