IQALUIT - Several tests of water quality in three Iqaluit-area rivers have found one area of Airport Creek is not safe to drink from.

Airport Creek is the only water body in Iqaluit which tested positive for E. coli bacteria. "Just one look at that water and you would probably not drink from it," said ecologist Jamal Shirley. - photo courtesy of Nunavut Research Institute

Scientists with the Nunavut Research Institute tested water from several sites in each of the Apex River, the Sylvia Grinnell River and Airport Creek. A sample site in Airport Creek behind the Canadrill Building contained the bacteria E.coli, indicating the water is contaminated with feces.

Jamal Shirley, an ecologist with the institute, said the bacteria's presence is probably a result of the dog teams that live nearby over the summer.

Water from all of the other testing sites was found to be clean and drinkable.

"It's very reassuring," said Shirley.

At the sole contaminated site, Shirley's tests found the water sample contained 20 colonies of E. coli per 100 ml. Health Canada's drinking water standard is zero colonies. The national standard for water safe to swim in are looser, at 200 colonies per 100 ml.

Shirley said the site isn't visually attractive.

"Just one look at that water and you would probably not drink from it," he said.

Shirley said the presence of E. coli, even if it's a harmless strain, means there may be other organisms in the water that come from animal waste which can cause illness, such as Giardia or Salmonella.

Shirley anticipates the data he's collecting will be useful when the City of Iqaluit considers expanding its drinking water supply. The city's population is growing so fast that Lake Geraldine can't meet all its water needs forever, Shirley said.

Shirley's work is in part a pilot project to see what kind of water testing can be done in remote communities without the expense of flying in a scientist.

"The whole point is to prove that people without degrees in microbiology can do reliable, defensible water quality testing," Shirley said.

Taking water samples is relatively easy, he said. The hard part is keeping the samples at the right temperature until they can get to a lab in southern Canada for testing. If the samples get too hot or too cold, the organisms in the water sample can die, making the lab results unreliable.