Iqaluit says it needs to keep pumping water from Apex River

The City of Iqaluit says it needs to keep pumping water from the Apex River to maintain the city's water supply.

"Right now we sort of live in a bit of uncertainty about our water source," said Romeyn Stevenson, deputy mayor of Iqaluit.

Lake Geraldine supplies the city with fresh drinking water; snow and rain refills the lake. Last summer was the first time the city refilled Lake Geraldine with water pumped from the Apex River.

The city has applied to the Nunavut Impact Review Boardto continue pumping water as needed from the Apex River into Lake Geraldine,to make sure the city meets regulatory requirements. The review board is taking public comments on the application until March 7.

According to the city's application of amendment to the review board, the city uses 73 to 78 per cent of the non-frozen water in Lake Geraldine during the winter months to meet drinking water demands.

There is not enough water in Lake Geraldine right now to get us through all of next year.- RomeynStevenson, deputy mayor ofIqaluit

But the need for fresh water by the city is growing, according to the document.

The city is using more water in Lake Geraldine than is being replenished naturally through snow and rain.

"There is not enough water in Lake Geraldine right now to get us through all of next year, and judging from the snow fall, there won't be enough this summer," said Stevenson.

According to Stevenson and Mayor Madeleine Redfern, there is no back up plan if this process isn't approved.

The city has purchased a reverse osmosis machineto convert sea water into fresh water, but this will not be ready this summer, they said.

"We are hoping never to use the reverse osmosis machine. That is not the better solution," said Stevenson.

Stevenson and Redfern both said the machine would be very costly and take a lot of energy to operate;the machine would not necessarily create enough fresh water to quench the city needs.

Cost to set up pump was $3M

Redfern said the cost to set up the pump from the Apex River to Lake Geraldine was about $3 million.

The city is currently looking at a permanent solution to the water problem such as creating a permanent waterline from the Sylvia Grinnell River, or another water source, which would cost around $30 million, said Redfern.

"Residents of the city of Iqaluit need fresh water. There is fresh water available around us and we need [to]access that water," said Stevenson.

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