Nunavut declares emergency in Iqaluit, city receives first shipment of potable water
CTV
A state of emergency has been declared in Iqaluit after the city’s water was deemed undrinkable and potentially tainted with petroleum.
The plane, filled with sorely needed potable water, is the first of at least five shipments expected in Iqaluit by the beginning of next week.
“The estimated total of all of it up to Monday evening should be around 170,000 litres of water,” James Mearns, director of Nunavut Emergency Management, told CTV National News.
On Tuesday, the city warned residents not to drink the tap water after a fuel-like smell was detected at the water treatment plant. Water samples from Iqaluit were sent to a lab in Southern Canada for testing and are expected back in the coming days, but officials say the water source is potentially tainted with petroleum.
The city said residents will be given a maximum of four reusable jugs per household and urged people to keep them for future use.
