Latest inspection results show chlorine corrosion, lack of trained staff and inspection challenges plaguing the community
Eight of Nunavut's 25 water treatment plants passed the latest public health inspection, with no health or safety deficiencies noted.
At the other 17 plants, violations of the territory's water quality and workplace safety standards range from chlorine management and inspection problems to inadequate staff training.
Five communities in Nunavut did not have a certified plant operator at the time of inspection. Her three others are under public health orders to resolve the issue.
In some cases, plant operations appeared unsafe.
Nunatsiaq News received testing reports for each community through Nunavut's Access to Information Act. Most are from his late 2023 or his early 2024.
At the Chesterfield Inlet plant, the chlorine used to kill bacteria in the water corroded the floor and caused pumps to fail as the plant froze.
“There is significant evidence of corrosion within the plant,” Environmental Health Inspector Gary Nelson said in a Feb. 26 report.
“Operators suspect that chlorine in the air is the cause…We have recommended that the plant be investigated to see if it is safe for operation.”
Nelson said the community owed money to a lab that regularly tests the water, and the lab had stopped returning results. The report said there was a coliform “hit,” but the information was not passed on to northern authorities because of outstanding payments.
A total coliform count does not necessarily indicate that the water is unsafe to drink, but it can indicate the presence of harmful bacteria.
Aside from the Chesterfield Inlet non-payment issue, it is difficult to ensure that remote communities have access to regular clinical testing, environmental health inspector Wilfred Ntiamoah said in an interview.
Because the Ottawa lab regularly tests communities in Nunavut, airline schedules and weather delays can impact sample viability.
“If there are delays or cancellations and the samples are left at the airport, you end up with an overgrowth of bacteria,” Ntiamoah said. This is because chlorine dissipates over time and bacteria grows.
After approximately 24 hours, test results are no longer accurate.
Ron Hoffman, a professor at the University of Toronto's School of Civil and Mineral Engineering, said in an interview that it's important to get water treatment right.
But “things do fail and in a small, remote town in the North, just the logistics of keeping things going are frighteningly difficult.
“When things go wrong, the most important thing is to notice it. So I actually like the fact that there are inspections and problems are being discovered.”
Ministry of Health spokeswoman Nadine Purdy said inspectors try to visit water treatment plants every six to 12 months.
The latest inspection report provided to Nunasiak News reflects that schedule, with the exception of Whale Cove, which has not been inspected since November 2022.
Purdy said a fire destroyed a hotel in the community in May 2023, making it difficult to schedule site visits. However, an inspection is scheduled for October.
Despite these challenges, Ntiamoah, who conducts environmental health inspections in the Qikiktaaluk region, said the GN cannot think of any confirmed cases of waterborne disease outbreaks in communities in Nunavut.
That's clear because if there was an outbreak, people would get sick, he said.
“These things cannot be hidden,” Ntiamoah said.
In one of Canada's worst public health disasters, E. coli contaminated the water supply in Walkerton, Ont., in May 2000, killing seven people and sickening 2,000.
An investigation into the incident found that none of the men who ran Walkerton Water Treatment Plant had any formal training in water management.
$605 million needed to address water treatment 'infrastructure gap'
The territorial government released the Drinking Water Strategic Framework in March 2023, which includes dozens of measures to bring Nunavut into line with Health Canada's guidelines for the provision of safe drinking water.
This includes updating Nunavut's drinking water regulations, training local plant operators and establishing a water treatment plant operator certification board, and producing an annual report on waterborne diseases and water quality across the territory. Masu.
According to the framework, it would cost $605 million just to correct the territory's “infrastructure deficiencies.” There is no indication how long it will take.
The Department of Community and Government Services is part of an interdepartmental working group that will develop an action plan based on the framework for next year.
“The action plan includes who, how, how much, and when to achieve the strategy through each activity,” department spokesman Greg Belanger said in a statement. Ta.
Bélanger said the Department of Community and Government Services has a ranked list of risk levels associated with water infrastructure across the territory.
“Several factors are considered, including the water source, the quality of the treated water, the components of the facility, and the resources within the municipality,” he said.
The current list was compiled in August 2022. Pond inlets, where pump house intakes suffered failures in 2019-20, have the highest priority on the list. Rankin Inlet's 54-year-old treatment plant took second place.
Both communities plan to introduce new plants with the help of federal funding announced in January.
According to the list, Clyde River's water sources are expected to run dry by 2025, and its water treatment plant is ranked third for failing to meet Canada's drinking water quality guidelines.
Whale Cove's new water treatment plant should be operational this summer, said Community and Government Services spokesperson Cyron Kabatu.
The second part of this feature, “Three Nunavut water treatment plants face public health orders over safety,” will be published online on Wednesday, May 22.
