Cambridge Bay’s population has outgrown its sewer, water services
Aopak Bella Angulalik’s home in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, runs out of water as often as every other day.
On weekends the elder says the smell of sewage can waft through the four-plex for days with toilets unable to flush until workers return Monday.
Cambridge Bay’s community Facebook page is full of residents asking for water delivery, sewage and garbage pickup and Angulalik is one of many calling for improvements as the hamlet works to keep up with its growing population.
“We need to cook, we need to do our laundry, you know, it’s essential,” Angulalik said.
Jim MacEachern, Cambridge Bay’s chief administrative officer, said the hamlet is training more workers but ultimately waiting for the territorial government to fund a new garage to store new trucks that can service more homes.
“We can buy the trucks, we can hire staff, the primary issue is without extra parking garages, we have nowhere to park the vehicles,” he said. “We can’t just purchase them and have them sit out in the elements all winter.”
MacEachern said the hamlet was approved for funding to build the new garage in 2021 but they’re in a queue of projects waiting for funding from the government of Nunavut.
“We are approved on that list, it’s just a matter of when the government can actually fund those projects to move forward,” he said.
The government of Nunavut did not respond to the CBC’s questions about where in the queue the Cambridge Bay garage falls, how much it would cost or when approximately the territory suspects it could be built.
Keeping up with community growth
MacEachern said the hamlet’s water, sewage and garbage services are becoming more strained as the community grows.
He said when he started with the hamlet in 2010 the population of Cambridge Bay was slightly over 1,200. At the time, there were four water trucks and four sewer trucks on the road. In 2025 he said the population is approaching 2,000 and there are still only four water trucks and four sewer trucks.
“There’s no question that services have been impacted with the growth of the community and the infrastructure to support the community hasn’t kept up with it,” he said.
Angulalik suggested the hamlet look into a utilidor, something MacEachern said could be possible with enough funding.
But, he said, the hamlet looked into connecting a new subdivision into the water line and that one section would cost about $7.5 million and still require service from sewer trucks.
MacEachern said the trucks are scheduled to be on the road seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. How frequently each house is serviced depends on its occupancy. When a house needs a service, he said they should call the hamlet and that their staff isn’t monitoring the Facebook page.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Iqaluit condo residents without water or sewage services for weeks, CBC News
