SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Water samples from Baker Creek, located near the Giant Mine in Yellowknife, are being tested for contaminants following a minor meltwater spill on Saturday.
A small hole formed at the base of a protective berm, causing a small amount of sediment to wash away and make its way into Baker Creek.
Jane Amphlett, operations manager with the Giant Mine clean-up project for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, said the hole was found very quickly on Saturday evening.
"By Sunday evening, no more material was entering," she said.
"This time of year we have meltwater and some thawing out takes place. It's more of a challenge to control water on site because things are moving around. "
Amphlett said water samples were collected over the weekend and results would be available on Wednesday. The department is not anticipating high levels of metals or arsenic.
"The goal is to make Baker Creek as ecologically viable as possible," she said.
"We're reviewing plans to make sure this doesn't happen in the future."
The meltwater was temporarily diverted away from the area via a dike, according to Yose Cormier, communications officer for the Giant Mine Remediation Directorate.
He stated in an e-mail that the meltwater is pooling in the quarry and will either naturally be absorbed, or pumped back into the environment once the sediments have been filtered out of it.
Baker Creek has areas of significant sediment contamination, according to the executive summary of the Giant Mine Remediation Plan.
Alternative North's Kevin O'Reilly said Giant Mine is a complex site and these events are inevitable.
"If you have a creek running through one of the most contaminated sites in Canada, these events will happen," he said.
"That's why the more things we can do to minimize the perpetual care requirements, the better. I don't think that's in the plans that have been developed so far."
O'Reilly added he was pleased with the efforts made by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada to communicate these events with the public.
"There is still a lot of room for improvement around communication and management at the site," he said.
Yellowknife city councillor Dan Wong said the quick repairs are positive but events such as these underscore the importance of remaining vigilant.
"We need to watch this process and work very, very carefully," he said.
"We need to work towards replacing and not abandoning the Yellowknife River water pipe. It is unfortunate that there was a spill (in 2011) and one this year."
In the spring of 2011 Baker Creek overflowed its banks and water went into a tailings pond and back into the creek, causing levels of arsenic in the stream to rise to 700 times above acceptable levels for drinking water.
Wong added he questions the federal government's ability to properly carry out the Giant Mine clean-up job.
"There are very few individuals in the world who have the expertise to efficiently manage a project of this complexity and none of them work for the federal government," said Wong.
