Kugaaruk residents still relying on bottled water

As Kugaaruk heads into the new year, residents are still relying on bottled water three weeks after seawater “infiltrated” the hamlet’s water treatment facility.

On Dec. 23, tests at the treatment plant indicated the water was safe to drink, said Pauli Illuitok, assistant senior administration officer for the hamlet on Wednesday.

However, the do-not-consume order is still in effect and hamlet residents are being provided bottled water for drinking, while water trucks continue to supply residents with water for washing and other purposes.

Illuitok said the community may need to rely on bottled water until the second week of January.

The local state of emergency was declared Dec. 7 after “unusually” high tides caused by a supermoon forced seawater into the hamlet’s water treatment plant two kilometres up stream. The “infiltration” triggered an automatic shutdown of the facility.

While no saltwater was delivered to homes, the shutdown did leave residents without a safe supply of drinking water. With the state of emergency in place, the federal government dispatched military personnel, thousands of bottles of water and pumping equipment to Kugaaruk.

The situation is “stable,” Illuitok said. It has not changed since the state of emergency was lifted on Dec. 12.

A representative from the Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.