Jillian Dickens
Northern News Services

Pangnirtung (Nov 21/05) - Billy Qaqasiq is a success story of sewage treatment in the North.

As chief operator of Pangnirtung's mechanical sewage treatment plant, Qaqasiq has a lot on his plate.

Two years ago, Qaqasiq with only a Grade 6 education and no formal training was in charge of the plant, a job his southern counterparts take years of schooling to do.

Now, he is a director with the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Water and Wastewater Association.

"Billy is an inspiration to me," said Peter Christou, an operator with Sanitherm Engineering, which owns the Pangnirtung plant. "Billy is past 40 and he is learning all these new skills."

The skills Christou is talking about are advanced chemistry, physics and mathematics.

Qaqasiq plowed through these challenges through trial and error, and just because he wanted to.

"It was very difficult at first, but when you really want something, you really go for it," said Qaqasiq.

Qaqasiq says his work is a challenge.

"You have to be really into it to do it well," he says. "Even if your education is low you can do a lot of things. Once you're into it, you can do a lot of things. "

"You have to be certified, but in the North, there is no certification board," said Christou.

Christou believes Qaqasiq has paved the way for other communities to open plants like the one in Pangnirtung.

"Many down south have said we're not going to be able to run a wastewater treatment plant with untrained personnel. They said: 'Just throw in your hat. It's not a viable option' Well, we're doing it," said Christou.

"This opens it up for other communities to treat their sewage, and it opens doors for people in terms of jobs."

As the territory grows, foreign systems are introduced to the Inuit. More often than not there are no Inuktitut words for industry terms. Such is the case for mechanical wastewater management.

Qaqasiq's work led to an excellence award from the Environmental Operations Certification Program, which covers the NWT, Yukon, British Columbia and is making a gradual progression towards Nunavut.

Qaqasiq's working partner Jayko Goupil was also recognized for his good work.

"One of the reasons Billy was recognized by the board is because he is setting the standards here. He is forging ahead in terms of translating wastewater vocabulary," says Christou.

Mechanical sewage treatment uses no chemicals. Certain bacteria is "farmed" to eat the waste and is separated from the water when the process is complete.

Qaqasiq and Goupil must keep the environment perfect for the bacteria to live.

"We're farmers here," said Qaqasiq. "We have to keep a close watch and have to balance the flow and feed the bacteria just right for the system to work."

This means adding just enough "sludge" for the bacteria to eat, giving the bacteria the right amount of air, and making sure foreign chemicals don't interfere with the process.

Qaqasiq needs a mind for both science and engineering to do his job right.

The sewage goes through a series of pumps and tanks all working at once. And the machines are always breaking down.

"The pumps break a lot because they are clogged or whatever. If something breaks, I can fix it," said Qaqasiq.

But, says Qaqasiq, "the hardest part is getting rid of the sludge bags."

The sludge bags are 100 pounds each, and must be regularly physically lifted and taken to the dump.

"It's hard on the back," said Qaqasiq.

The cleaned water is poured into the sea.