Iqaluit’s plans to head off another water shortage under technical review
City plans to pump water from Apex River to Lake Geraldine later this year
The City of Iqaluit plans to pump water from Apex River to Lake Geraldine each summer to ensure the city doesn’t run out of water. (FILE PHOTO)
A technical review is underway by the Nunavut Water Board of the City of Iqaluit’s proposal to pump more water from the Apex River.
Iqaluit city council’s public works committee received an update on the water pumping project last Wednesday.
The city plans to take water from the Apex River to supplement its current water source, Lake Geraldine, much like it did last year, when it faced a potential water shortage.
According to Matthew Hamp, Iqaluit’s director of engineering and public works, the city’s water demands are increasing. Almost 80 per cent of the water in the current reservoir is used by the end of winter. Lake Geraldine refills naturally from snowmelt and rain within the watershed, meaning there is no resupply during the winter months.
The project proposal involves pumping up to 500,000 cubic metres (132 gallons) of water from the Apex River each year to top up the reservoir before winter.
The project is a temporary solution to address the water shortage, Hamp said. It will run from 2019 to 2026.
Apex River is the preferred source to top up the city’s water supply, because it is closest to the current reservoir and has the shortest road access, said Hamp.
The solution is temporary until a permanent additional supply to Lake Geraldine is designed and built.
Up to three submersible pumps will be installed in the river to withdraw water. Pumps and associated equipment will be installed and removed each year, Hamp said.
A decision to implement pumping in Apex River will be made in late June of each year, depending on the water levels in Lake Geraldine.
Hamp said Arctic char are known to be present in the downstream part of the river, by the bridge on the Road to Nowhere. The project will adhere to DFO guidelines by only pumping when the river flows are more than 30 per cent of mean annual discharge and withdrawing less than 10 per cent of the daily flow of the river.
However, Apex River is not considered a reliable source for the long term if DFO requirements are not maintained, Hamp said.
The city’s other options for a long-term water supply include Sylvia Grinnell River and an “unnamed lake” three kilometres north of Apex. Both options are currently being analyzed by the city.
Hamp said the city is also making progress on the use of a reverse osmosis system to desalinate water from Koojesse Bay.
A technical meeting open to the public will be held on Monday, May 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the City of Iqaluit corporate offices.
Desalinate from Koojeesie. where the sewage outflow is? Don’t think that is such a good idea Council. Think again
I’d suggest getting a new conversion calculator; 500,000 cubic meters is not 132 gallons. You might want to try 132 *million* gallons.
Pumping water out of the Apex River for the better part of seven years is not a “short-term” measure and I fear for the sustainability of the Apex river given this pressure. That being said I was up at the reservoir over the weekend and there are a number of big ice domes which indicate that the water levels are significantly below the ice sheet. The City needs to get off its duff and find a permanent solution ASAP after all they were first warned about this almost 10 years ago!