Iqaluit drinking water tested for 26% of potential contaminants

The City of Iqaluit only tests for 20 of 75 contaminants on Health Canada's drinking water guidelines, but its director of public works says that residents have nothing to worry about.

CBC News surveyed 18 cities across the country, including the three territorial capitals. Of the 18, Iqaluit was tied with St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, in testing for the fewest contaminants in drinking water.

Matthew Hamp, Iqaluit's director of public works, says that's because many of the hazardous materials in Health Canada's guidelines come from big industry.

"The source water for the City ofIqaluitis not subject to the samestressorsthat exist in other jurisdictions, such as proximity to livestock, agricultural activity, and organics, heavy industry, and manufacturing," said Hamp, "for which many of the parameters in the guideline are intended to assess."

All three territorial capitals finished near the bottom of CBC's investigation. Whitehorse only tests for 33 contaminants, and Yellowknife for 23. In the case of both of those cities, as well as Iqaluit, spokespeople said that many of the contaminants on Health Canada's list are agricultural pesticides related to farming, an industry which is not prevalent in the territories.

"We don't have farms and cattle, and the influence of the waste from those animals," said Hamp, whose department tests Lake Geraldine, Iqaluit's water source, four times a year. Hamp called Lake Geraldine a "relatively pristine water source."

Water at the city's purification plant is tested at least seven times a year, and the city's storage tanks are tested daily.

Every territory and province sets their own rules for water safety, including which of Health Canada's contaminants they choose to test for. Some cities, like Ottawa, Edmonton, and Halifax, test for nearly all of the 75 listed.

Michele Leblanc-Havard, aspokesperson for Nunavut's health department, says that one of the territory's biggest hurdles is building costly infrastructure.

"There are difficulties with water treatment all over the world," she said, "and Nunavut is no exception."