Canadian military arrives in Iqaluit to assist with clean drinking water crisis
Global News
Iqaluit's 8,000 residents haven't been able to consume tainted tap water for nearly two weeks after fuel was found in samples.
The Canadian Armed Forces says its members have arrived in Nunavut’s capital to assist with the city’s ongoing water emergency.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted Friday that he had spoken with Nunavut Premier Joe Savikataaq and the military would be deployed to Iqaluit to co-ordinate and deliver clean drinking water.
Late Saturday, the military tweeted that there are over 20 Canadian Armed Forces members in Iqaluit setting up deployable equipment for reverse osmosis water purification.
Iqaluit’s 8,000 residents haven’t been able to consume tainted tap water for nearly two weeks after fuel was found in samples.
Residents have been collecting water from the city’s Sylvia Grinnell River and picking up free bottled water from distribution sites, and local officials say they’re continuing efforts to identify the source of the contamination.
In a news release Sunday, the city says the investigation to date has pointed to potential hydrocarbon contamination in the soil or ground water outside the municipal water treatment plant, which it says may have leached into a storage tank.