A temporary pipeline running through Puvirnituq was damaged earlier this month by a snowmobile, but has been repaired. (Photo courtesy of Kativik Regional Government/Patrick Desteredjian)
State of emergency extended in Puvirnituq
Temporary water pipeline stable; Crews to stay until distribution returns to normal
Updated May 29 at 11:25 a.m. ET
Puvirnituq’s state of emergency has been extended another 10 days and will remain in place until June 6 as the community works to stabilize its water distribution system.
Mayor Lucy Qalingo gave the update Wednesday in a video statement posted to Kativik Regional Government’s Facebook page.
The community has been under a state of emergency since May 17 in the face of a water shortage. Its main water pipeline broke in March. Since then, water has been trucked into the community.
However, two of Puvirnituq’s five water trucks are out of service and the five-kilometre road is covered in slush this time of year, making the journey difficult.
On May 16, the Inuulitsivik Health Centre deployed its contingency plan and relocated health-centre patients and Sailivik long-term elders facility residents, with accompanying nurses, to hospitals in Montreal.
Qalingo warned Puvirnituq residents to avoid going near a temporary pipeline that has been set up to transport water to the community’s treatment plant. Snowmobiles can damage the pipe when they drive over it.
Municipal public works director Hossein Shafeghati gave an update as well to Kativik Regional Government council, which is meeting this week in Kangiqsujuaq.
He said the 2.9-kilometre temporary pipeline is stable and that water trucks are gathering water and supplying homes.
“The streets are clean, everything is almost back to normal,” he said, adding the main pipeline should be repaired and in full operation by September.
Now that the “blizzard season has finished, the flood season has started,” Shafeghati said, referring to standing water created by the spring melt.
Now, the goal is to make sure the temporary pipeline is above ground and secure so it does not wash away.
Shafegheti said everybody who can help has been sent in to help.
“But climate change is bringing something that is beyond the capacity that any small municipality can handle,” he said, pointing to several blizzards that have hit the community this spring, and the challenge of efficiently moving the amount of snow they brought.
“We have to change our approach.”
He took a moment to acknowledge the resilience and fortitude of Puvirnituq’s leadership, remarking that he “can’t even imagine” being in the mayor’s shoes for one day.
“Boy, what a couple of months they have had,” he said.
Note: This story was updated to include the end date for the state of emergency
Looks like everyone stopped caring in town. They got used to it.