Iqaluit expects water testing to come back clean; tap water still undrinkable

IQALUIT – Nunavut’s capital city says it expects tests on its drinking water to show undetectable levels of fuel.

Iqaluit is under a state of emergency and its roughly 8,000 residents haven’t been able to consume tap water since Oct. 12 because of fuel contamination.

The city says in a news release that it has finished work to remove hydrocarbons from the water treatment plant.

It says it plans to continue flushing its water treatment plant until Thursday, and residents will need to flush their own pipes by running taps after that.

The city said Tuesday that it found an old fuel spill in the ground beside the treatment plant and that is likely to have contaminated the water.

The Canadian Armed Forces were called in to help with the water emergency, but there is no timeline for when residents will be able to drink the water again.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2021.