Greenhouse harvests ice amid water disruption in Gjoa Haven
Water for plants boiled and tested before use, says supervisor
Naurvik greenhouse technicians Lucy Ann Inuguk Oogak, left, and Aldina Arnaqruaq Porter harvest ice blocks from Swan Lake on March 11. The ice was to be melted and boiled into clean water for watering plants and supporting day-to-day operations amid the community’s ongoing water service disruption. (Photo courtesy of Arctic Research Foundation)
As the disruption in water service in Gjoa Haven enters its third month, workers are harvesting blocks of ice from a nearby lake to water plants at the community’s greenhouse.
Access to potable water in the Kitikmeot hamlet of approximately 1,400 people has been limited since Jan. 15, when a break was discovered in the water main running from Swan Lake to the water treatment plant. This, coupled with water truck issues, led to slower water deliveries.
A new water truck arrived March 3, but a boil-water advisory remains in effect until the water main is fixed.
These challenges have led technicians at Gjoa Haven’s Naurvik Growing Facility, an off-grid hydroponic greenhouse, to go straight to the source to grow their food.
“We just wanted to get fresh water ourselves,” said Aldina Arnaqruaq Porter.
She, along with colleague Lucy Ann Inuguk Oogak, collected 10 blocks of ice, some weighing as much as 22 kilograms, from Swan Lake on March 11.
The lake is more than four kilometres from the greenhouse.
The Naurvik greenhouse, which opened in 2019 as a community-led project to provide fresh food for residents, grows its plants using a hydroponic system delivering nutrients directly through water instead of in the soil.
Hydroponic growing uses water more efficiently than traditional gardening. But it also brings higher standards for the water used to feed the plants, to make sure the food they produce is safe for human consumption. That means the plants are affected by the boil-water advisory as well.
“To ensure the produce is safe to eat, it’s essential that the plants are watered with clean water,” said Dodd St. Croix, site supervisor for the Naurvik greenhouse.
This meant staff has had to boil a lot of water and reduce planting, said Porter.
The hamlet is still providing water through trucked delivery, but there have been complaints this water is yellow and slimy. So the hamlet has been harvesting ice as well, for those who prefer it.
There is a community meeting planned for Thursday at 7 p.m., hosted by Nunavut Emergency Services, to provide updates on the water disruption. Representatives from the Departments of Community Services, as well as Transportation and Infrastructure, will be there. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Ekua Agymang also plans to be present.
The hamlet hasn’t even announced a spot to hold the meeting. It must be in the wonder building as we all wonder every day if any hamlet maintained buildings will be opened.