NUNAVUT

Many of the sewage lagoons in Nunavut are leaking raw effluent and dumps are leaching hazardous waste, according to water use inspections conducted by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada last summer.

Reports for 20 of those communities show Arctic Bay, Cape Dorset, Chesterfield Inlet, Clyde River, Gjoa Haven, Hall Beach and Repulse Bay had expired water licences while Resolute Bay was unlicensed and Pangnirtung's licence was to expire less than a month after the inspection.

The inspector noted in Cambridge Bay the outfall of the terraced sewage ponds into the bay was "green" with an "obvious odour of sewage," and Arctic char were feeding in it, which he stated is a health risk to the community.

Cambridge Bay Mayor Syd Glawson said he was not pleased with the inspector's investigation.

"What he reported was not complete. You can't take a sample from the sewage lagoon, raw sewage, and say that it is bad water going into the ocean because by the time that gets into the ocean, there is changes in that flow," he said. "We already spoke to this inspector about it and the next time he wants to write something about Cambridge Bay, it better be accurate."

In the report on Baker Lake, the inspector found hazardous waste not properly stored and obvious spills and leakage throughout the site, as well as signs that the spills are leaching into effluent streams that may eventually reach Baker Lake, the source of the community's drinking water.

Iglulik senior administrative officer Brian Fleming, also the president of the Nunavut Association of Municipal Administrators, said the results are nothing new to the hamlets but the problem won't be fixed overnight as it has been ongoing since the 1950s. Although to the letter of the law the hamlets are ultimately responsible, he added none has the money to fix the problem.

"We've known about this problem for a long time. It certainly is a concern of almost every hamlet, if not all of them," he said. "When the federal government and so on started building communities up in Nunavut, they never gave any thought to what a landfill site was going to look like in the year 2011."

Water licences for municipal drinking water, solid waste and sewage treatment are the responsibilities of the municipalities, as is the management of the facilities, but the territory's Department of Community and Government Services (CGS) provides technical and financial support.

Roy Green, director of community infrastructure with the department, said INAC provided CGS with an inspection summary, not the actual reports, after they were made public. He added no municipality voluntarily informed CGS of the inspection report findings.

"We did not receive a copy of the summary reports until the information was released in the media," he said. "We weren't aware of some of the inspection findings."

He added CGS is analyzing the data and discussing with INAC the severity of some of the risks identified. Once that is done, he said the department will work with the municipalities to mitigate any risk, if deemed necessary.

Green also said his department has hired a consultant to help communities complete their water licence applications. He added the consultant is also working on a generic owner manual to help communities meet licence requirements and he is providing water sampling training for both water treatment and solid waste samples. Green said the consultant has already visited 12 communities and is expected to visit the others this summer. He said CGS will use the consultant's report to develop an ongoing training program to manage water treatment and waste management facilities.

"We all agree our infrastructure is aging and it's going to take some time to be able to address those issues. This won't happen overnight. It's going to happen over time," he said.

INAC's job is to ensure compliance of water licences, said Bernie MacIsaac, director of operations in the Nunavut regional office of INAC.

"We weren't surprised. It's not a new issue. We've seen a lot of these issues in the past," he said.

MacIsaac said his department is working with the territorial government and the Nunavut Water Board to work out a plan to address these issues.

"Everybody is aware of what these issues are and everybody is working together to help resolve them," he said.

2010 water use inspection report lowlights

Arctic Bay: Sewage eventually seeps to the ocean from the lagoon.

Baker Lake: Effluent from the sewage lagoon flows into three small lakes in sequence, eventually leading to Baker Lake, the source of the community's drinking water.

• The runoff in those lakes appears to be contaminated with spills and leakage from the hazardous waste not properly stored at the landfill.
• None of the required annual reports has been filed since 2005.
• The inspector threatened legal action against the GN and the municipality. "Such obvious disregard for authority and disrespect for the environment are of great concern to the inspector," stated the report.

Cambridge Bay: Char observed feeding in "green" and stinky stream of sewage outfall into bay.

Cape Dorset: The three-tier lagoon system was in poor shape and at capacity, with each cell overflowing into the next and then down gradient into the ocean.

Clyde River: The hazardous waste landfill is problematic, as "a number of barrels containing waste oils, lubricants and glycol are lying on their sides or leaking."

Hall Beach: Lagoon cell 1 continues to leak and the GN has not yet cleaned up the 2008 release of 13 million litres of raw sewage.

Iglulik: Had to borrow chlorine from Hall Beach as it almost ran out and sewage from the multi-cell lagoon is "continuously seeping through the berm walls," the inspector noted.

• Hazardous materials, including old batteries and oxidizing pool chemicals, are not contained and "easily" accessible to the public.

Iqaluit: The landfill is near capacity, with shredded waste piled 25 metres high.

Kimmirut: Sewage continues to discharge into a ditch that drains directly into the ocean

Kugaaruk: At the time of the drinking water inspection, neither the keys to the pumphouse nor the chlorination records could be found and chlorine level testing kits were not being used. "It is unclear if the source water is being treated with chlorine or if bleach is being added," states the report.

Kugluktuk: The new lagoon liner has "very large" bubbles under it, which may threaten its integrity, and the lagoon liner is not sealed in a number of places and was possibly installed upside down.

Pangnirtung: The water treatment plant is not properly treating the sewage as it is working above its designed capacity

Pond Inlet: The sewage lagoon has been leaking for the last two to three years and the decant structure is frozen and inoperable.

Repulse Bay: Because waste in the landfill has not been burned or buried in more than three years, waste has been piling up. "This is a serious health risk and wildlife attractant," the inspector noted.

Source: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.