Gjoa Haven, Nunavut, expecting system upgrades after months of water woe

By Arty Sarkisian

Nunavut government is planning water infrastructure upgrades in 14 communities

After years of uncertainty, eight months of boil water advisory and a local state of emergency, Gjoa Haven is expecting new water infrastructure, but when remains unclear.

The hamlet is one of 14 Nunavut communities that are expecting water upgrades, according Greg Belanger, spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Nunavut (TIN), spearheading the enhancements.

That’s good news for Twyla Akoak, an early childhood educator who has been boiling several pots of water every day to be able to cook food for children at the local daycare.
“It was a bit of a challenge, having to boil the water, having it to cool off and then we would have to filter it,” she said.

Gjoa Haven finally emerged from its drinking water crisis in August after the water line between the community’s water treatment plant and pumping station on Swan Lake was repaired.

In April, the federal government even deployed the military to distribute drinking water in the community.

To Jennifer Wakegijig, the community’s senior administrative officer, the months-long boil water advisory highlighted the need for new infrastructure.

“Our community has grown perhaps to a point where we’re almost going to exceed the amount of water that we can draw from the current source lake,” she said.

New infrastructure in the works

According to Belanger, the upgrades to community infrastructure “are at various stages of development and delivery, ranging from early planning and design through to active construction, with several projects already well into the construction phase.”

To date, the government has committed more than $400 million to those projects, Belanger added. The upgrades are part of the territorial government’s $610-million Drinking Water Strategy Framework released in 2023.

In Gjoa Haven’s case, the changes could include a new water treatment plant, transmission line and a pumphouse. If built, the new system is expected to serve the community until the end of the century, according to the government.

Gjoa Haven’s mayor Raymond Quqshuun Sr. says the upgrades still need to be finalized.

“We are talking about either renovating the system or getting a new system,” he said.

When the upgrades will happen also remains to be seen as the government is still working on preliminary tests and studies, says Courtney McDonnell, another department spokesperson.

Despite the end of the boil water advisory and the hope for potential upgrades, things have changed little for Akoak and the Gjoa Haven daycare.

“We still boil before we cook,” she said.

According to Akoak, several children got sick and had to be taken to the health centre when the community’s water line was leaking, so she says she will continue to be extra cautious with the tap water.

Water issues wide-spread in Nunavut

Canada’s auditor general is set to look into the management of drinking water in Nunavut with the report scheduled to be released in 2027.

This has been one of the territory’s long-running issues. That’s despite Nunavut’s water generally being cleaner than in the rest of the country, says Andrew Medeiros, a researcher at Dalhousie University that studies arctic freshwater.

“You’re starting with a fresher source of water. So the treatment needs are actually fairly low,” he said.

Issues persist due to the government’s slowness in bringing upgrades like the ones planned in Gjoa Haven, according to Medeiros.

“It’s just a lot of that maintenance and infrastructure improvements have been deferred and not addressed on schedule for various economic reasons,” he said.

In 2024, only eight out of 25 Nunavut water treatment plants passed health and safety tests.

Related stories from around the North: 

Canada: Federal funding approved to upgrade aging water, sewage lines in Behchokǫ̀, N.W.T., CBC News

Finland: Unusually balmy June comes on tail of Finland’s record spring warmth, Eye on the Arctic

Norway: Weather above normal for 18 consecutive months, The Independent Barents Observer