Iqaluit open house showcases city’s water plans
Second meeting scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Apex
The first of two open houses on Iqaluit’s long-term water system plan was held at the Elders Qammaq on Wednesday. A second meeting is scheduled for Thursday afternoon in Apex. (Photo by Jeff Pelletier)
It was a sparse crowd Wednesday night at the first of two open houses on Iqaluit’s long-term plan to upgrade its water system.
Along with about a half-dozen members of the public, representatives from the City of Iqaluit, project manager Colliers Project Leaders and engineering firm Arcadis were at the Elders’ Qammaq with a dozen poster boards explaining the city’s plans.
Those plans include building a new reservoir, drawing water from Lake Qikiqtalik and the Apex River, and upgrading the city’s piped water distribution system.
The reservoir plan was approved at an August city council meeting.
The federal government gave the city $214 million in 2022 to cover the cost of these projects.
For the reservoir and water intake portion, a timeline presented at the open house indicates a submission will be sent to the Nunavut Planning Commission next month. Next year, submissions would be made to the Nunavut Impact Review Board and Nunavut Water Board.
Pending permitting, the timeline forecasts construction starting in the fall of 2026 and a late-2029 completion date.
Iqaluit-Sinaa MLA Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster was at the meeting. She said she wants some assurance that another water crisis like the one in 2021 won’t happen again.
“You always want to make sure that the focus continues to be on addressing the issues that were brought forward, that brought the funds in, as well as the ability to pivot if new issues come up,” Brewster said in an interview.
“However, it seems like they’re staying the course, and that to me is good to hear.”
A second open house is scheduled for Thursday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Abe Okpik Hall in Apex.
Has our river water right in Iqaluit have been considered as part of the water supply instead of a stale water from a reservoir. There is a reason for us locals we get our water directly from the river while out of towners don’t trust our nature water. With that multimillion budget they are planning maybe help us locals to have easier access to the river water instead of us constantly trying to keep the hole open on the ice. By the way river flows all year round maybe the engineers don’t know that?
The water stops flowing in the winter. Went there in the winter to get water and bottom is dry.