Health, safety violations common in Nunavut water treatment plants
Results from latest inspections show chlorine corrosion, lack of trained staff and testing challenges plague communities
This is the water intake for Rankin Inlet’s water treatment plant, which is second on a list ranking risk relative to water treatment facilities across Nunavut’s communities. It is also one of four communities with funding announced earlier this year for a new plant. (Photo courtesy of the Government of Nunavut)
Eight of Nunavut’s 25 water treatment plants passed their most recent public health inspections with no health or safety deficiencies noted.
At the other 17 plants, violations of the territory’s water quality standards and workplace safety standards ranged from chlorine management or testing issues to inadequate staff training.
Five Nunavut communities had no certified plant operators at the time of their inspections; three others are under public health orders to fix issues.
In some cases, the plants appeared unsafe to operate.
Nunatsiaq News received the inspection reports for each community through Nunavut’s access to information law. Most date from late 2023 or early 2024.
At Chesterfield Inlet’s plant, the floor was corroded from chlorine, which is used to kill bacteria in the water, because the plant had frozen up, causing pumps to break.
“There is significant evidence of corrosion within the plant,” said Gary Nelson, an environmental health inspector, in his Feb. 26 report.
“Operator suspects it is from chlorine in the air … suggest investigating if the plant is safe for operations.”
The hamlet owed money to the lab that does its regular water testing, Nelson noted, and the lab had stopped returning results. The report noted there was a total coliform bacteria “hit,” the report said — but because of the owed money, that information didn’t make it to northern authorities.
Total coliform hits don’t necessarily indicate water is unsafe to drink, but it can be an indicator there is harmful bacteria present.
Even aside from Chesterfield Inlet’s non-payment issues, it’s a challenge to ensure remote communities get regular lab tests, said environmental health inspector Wilfred Ntiamoah in an interview.
An Ottawa lab does regular testing for Nunavut communities, so airline schedules or weather delays can affect the viability of samples.
“If there is a delay or cancellation and the sample is sitting at the airport, you have an overgrowth of bacteria,” Ntiamoah said, because chlorine dissipates over time, allowing bacteria to grow.
After about 24 hours, test results will no longer be accurate.
It’s essential to get water treatment right, said Ron Hofmann, a professor with the department of civil and mineral engineering at the University of Toronto, in an interview.
That said, “Things fail and certainly in remote small northern towns, just the logistics of keeping stuff going is fiendishly difficult.
“When things fail, the most important thing is to notice. So actually, I like the fact that there are inspections and they’re finding these problems.”
Inspectors try to visit water treatment plants every six to 12 months, said Health Department spokesperson Nadine Purdy.
The most recent inspection reports provided to Nunatsiaq News reflect that schedule, with the exception of Whale Cove, which hasn’t been inspected since November 2022.
Purdy said a fire destroyed the community’s hotel in May 2023, making it difficult to schedule site visits. But there are plans for an inspection in October.
Despite these challenges, Ntiamoah, who conducts environmental health inspections in Qikiqtaaluk region, said he can’t think of any instances where the GN has confirmed an outbreak of waterborne illness in a Nunavut community.
If an outbreak did happen, he said, it would be obvious because people would be sickened.
“You can’t hide these things,” Ntiamoah said.
In one of Canada’s worst public health disasters, seven people died and 2,000 others were sickened in May 2000 in Walkerton, Ont., when its water supply was contaminated by E. coli bacteria.
An inquiry into that incident found neither of the men running the Walkerton water treatment plant were formally trained in water management.
$605M needed to fix water treatment “infrastructure deficit”
The territorial government released a Drinking Water Strategic Framework in March 2023 with dozens of steps to be implemented to bring Nunavut in line with Health Canada’s guidelines for providing safe drinking water.
It includes updates to Nunavut’s drinking water regulations, training for local plant operators and establishment of a water plant operator certification board, and preparation of an annual report on waterborne illness and water quality across the territory.
Fixing the territory’s “infrastructure deficit” alone would cost $605 million, according to the framework. It doesn’t indicate how long that could take.
The Department of Community and Government Services is part of an interdepartmental working group that will prepare an action plan from the framework over the next year.
“The action plan will include the who, how, how much, and when, required to achieve the strategy through each activity,” said department spokesperson Greg Belanger.
Community and Government Services has a list ranking the risk level associated with water infrastructure across the territory, said Belanger.
“It considers several factors including water source, treated water quality, facility components, and resources in the municipality,” he said.
The current list was compiled in August 2022. Pond Inlet, which sustained a pumphouse intake failure in the 2019-20 fiscal year, has the highest priority on the list. Rankin Inlet’s 54-year-old treatment plant comes in at number two.
Both communities are slated to get new plants with the help of federal funding announced in January.
Clyde River’s water source is expected to be depleted by 2025, according to the list, and its water treatment plant does not meet Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality, putting it in third place.
A new water treatment plant for Whale Cove should be online this summer, according to Community and Government Services spokesperson Cyrone Cabatu.
The second part of this feature, “3 Nunavut water plants face public health orders over safety,” will be published online on Wednesday, May 22.
It seems that the CGS only visits communities during the sealift season. I remember seeing a clip of a CGS worker resigning in Whale Cove after 30+ years. Has this person been replaced by a certified worker? Both Whale Cove and Rankin seem to be constantly under water advisories. Does Rankin not have a certified person to address this issue?
Rankin has been drinking chlorinated water since they got water pipes. It’s gross seeing white sand like particles in a glass of water. I try to avoid drinking from tap water everytime I’m in rankin.
It’s time for an independent drinking water regulatory authority in Nunavut, separate from both the Government of Nunavut (GN) and the Hamlets. T
his authority should be federally funded, staffed by experts,a nd operate autonomously to ensure accountability. It would address issues like the chronic underfunding of Hamlets by the GN for training and water infrastructure, as well as the mismanagement by the Hamlets.
Both parties share responsibility for the current drinking water issues and must be held accountable.
Why should it be federally funded? GN gets $2+ B per year from feds in territorial transfers and also considerable capital funding. Maybe the government of Nunavut could actually set some targets and priorities. So much for devolution…..
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/programs/federal-transfers/major-federal-transfers.html
By being federally funded, the authority would be free from the political constraints of the Government of Nunavut (GN) and the Hamlets, allowing it to operate with unbiased oversight and accountability to Nunavummiut.
This independence would enable the authority to prioritize public health and safety, provide expert-driven solutions, and address the GNs chronic underfunding (from the Fed transfers you mention) and mismanagement issues that have led to the current drinking water crisis.
If one must assign the feds for the day to day operation of safe drinking water, one must also question to validity of the municipal and territorial government. On that note, you should see the reserves that are under federal control due to the Indian Act, and see how their drinking water is. If you think that making the feds responsible for this will make these issues go away, think again.
It appears there’s some confusion regarding the concept of being independent but federally funded.
This does not mean delegating responsibility to the federal government, but rather ensuring they provide the necessary funding for the oversight/regulatory body.
I suggest that the board or senior staff should be appointed in a manner similar to the NIRB, with a combination of representatives from the Federal government, GN, NTI, or RIAs to ensure not a single entity has control over the org if we want true oversight of Drinking Water Operations.
Not acceptable, if our Nunavut Dept of CGS cannot control water samples and this just surfaced, and spring is here, hire one person in each region to do water samples, what an incompetent group, cannot even provide safe drinking water for our citizens,
There is a trained employee in every Hamlet tasked with water sampling, as well there are district staff who oversee and Hamlet management and local elected authority. So something or everything is missing and adding another layer won’t help. Those who have the task must do the task. Part of the issue may be cleaning of residential tanks. You really want a treat open the cover, look inside. You’ll never drink water again.
Operators need to be trained professionals, not Article 23 hires. Training in Nunavut is a joke. Usually no real testing at the end of the training to ensure the training actually worked or that anything was actually learned. Operators need to be tested regularly and if they fail they need to be fired. Dealing with water can be a life and death situation, so untrained and unqualified doesnt cut it.
It would have been nice to have the list of communities that did pass.
Nunatsiaq has a problem with breadth of information at times.
Every Hamlet in Nunavut operates it’s water delivery system from two sources of funds. First, from what each hamlet gets paid from water bills (a pittance). Plus a much larger amount from funds directly received from CGS under its Water and Sewage Subsidy Program.
A year ago, before the GN revamped its website, copies of this Subsidy Program were available online. Now, they are not.
A key question in this story is whether or not the Water and Sewage Subsidy Program has been revised to reflect our recent years of high inflation.
It could very well be that Hamlets simply do not have enough money anymore, from the GN, to do a good job. You could not tell based on the transparency of the GN.
This at the same time as the GN asks for hundreds of millions in new funds from the feds for Nunavut water systems.
What a strange coincidence?
Little over a month ago, after the UN rapporteur held meetings with GN, municipalities and 3 Inuit Orgs. Then called us “privileged” with our safe water. Silence. Until access to information cracks open the privileged nothing to see… WTH concerns.
This would help solve staffing and training issues if local Inuit realized there are job opportunities like this and take education and training seriously because they’d help their community by filling the jobs. Can’t keep blaming government at this point since it’s been around to have graduated and enter the work world. We can step up too and encourage students and others.
What a joke again with the situation in Nunavut.
Nobody seems to care at the local level that regulations and procedures are followed. Even when it is of crucial importance like the health and safety . But they are the first to complain when something bad happen . I would dread having the job of going to the small communities and trying to sort out who does what and where the paperwork is . Wanna go there on a Friday afternoon .
I dare you to find anyone to answer the ohone .
At the same time the higher authorities ( what a joke to call them like that ) are no better and are happy campers until a disaster or scandal blows up in their face.
All the money in the world for infrastructure will not be a cure for lazyness and gross incompetence . As they nsay, Out of sight and out of mind.
Thanks
Only 8 communities passed inspection, is there a list of communities that did not pass?
chlorine Is very unhealthy to consume, here in Iqaluit you can smell it possibly other chemicals in our water, what is in place to make sure communities are not over using these chemicals?
Again I do not understand our territory government that receives over 2 BILLION dollars annually and yet just can’t do anything right, basic infrastructure, education, healthcare, housing, drinking water.
I just wish our GN could be more productive and also think outside of the box, it is like we keep taking steps backwards for 20 plus years now.
Very disappointing.
Nunavut is cooked
You’ll notice Community Government & Services lack infrastructure services to slacker’s. They’ll only pop-up when emergency arises in remote Municipalities! The Minister of CG&S is just a KID that appears to have NO merit in terms as Infrastructure fund’s! Further to this matter Premier is also a kid from the block!
These are kid’s that lack’s penny fund’s for Municipal infrastructure’s! Just a thought!
Oh the cost of Canadian sovereignty. The Canadian government must be regretting creating 25 settlements.
Most certainly, and recently there have been attempts to move the people of smaller communities into the larger ones, the people didn’t want it. They arn’t the ones paying for it either, we are. Those who work and pay taxes are. And I am not talking about those employed by the GN or hamlets, your pay is paid by the tax payer. These smaller communities are wasting our taxes to no good end. It’s time to shut these smaller communuties before it gets worst.
I wonder how the Danes do it with Greenland? They are way ahead on so many levels over there compared to Nunavut and in general Canada’s north,
Can we just adopt how they do things and move away from all this mess that we have?
The Danes sure have done a much better job compared to our UK/Canadian method.
The delivery of potable water is a shared responsibility between CG&S/Hamlets and NHC/Housing Associations and Authorities. Any breakdowns or negligence in the operations and maintenance of the water Infrastructure must be addressed. I doubt that anyone would want to see a disaster such as occurred in 2000 in Walkerton, Ontario, when seven people died due to drinking the tainted domestic water supplied by the town’s water treatment plant.
Wasn’t there just some big wig floating around and commenting that NU has great drinking water protocols in place. And former Mayor Stanky Leg told everyone the water was fine. Drink the water and stop complaining… a bunch of bellyachers. Wait, I just drank the water and I’m bellyaching for real.