‘Nobody knows for sure’ how Iqaluit’s water became recontaminated, says Patterson – Nunatsiaq News
Jan 27, 2022
Chief public health officer says city will continue to bypass treatment plant until this question is answered
Officials are still trying to figure out why fuel keeps showing up in the Iqaluit’s treated water system, even after the suspected source of last fall’s fuel contamination is now clean.
“The obvious question is where are these hydrocarbons coming from and at this point nobody knows for sure,” said chief public health officer Dr. Michael Patterson in an interview.
Iqalummiut spent two months under an advisory to not consume their water, issued by the Health Department on Oct. 12 after fuel was found in the city’s water treatment system. On Dec. 16, six days after the advisory was lifted, the water at the treatment plant became contaminated again.
