Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Tuktoyaktuk (Sept 03/01) - Tuktoyaktuk's water supply is draining dry but there are as yet no definite plans on what to do about it.

The hamlet's mayor says they're trying to get the pumping station moved from Kugluk Lake to a new water source, but no one knows where the money will come from.

"It's going to need a lot of dollars to do all the work we need to do, and we don't have that kind of money," says Ernest Pokiak. "We're getting concerned enough that we'll have to get something done by next season. But at the present time, it all boils down to money."

Pokiak says he's been asking the territorial government for help with the water situation ever since he became mayor three years ago. But so far, there has been no commitment of money to help with a new pumping station, even though Kugluk Lake is expected to be too shallow to draw water from next year, when it comes time to fill the hamlet's reservoir again.

On Aug. 22, Dan Carmichael, acting superintendent for the Municipal and Community Affairs in Inuvik, attended a special council meeting to discuss the matter. He says the water problem is something they're working on with the hamlet.

"We're providing some technical assistance to the community to work on the problem," Carmichael says. "What has to be done first, is to look at the problem and see if there's a need to relocate. The plan would be to construct a weir next spring."

A log weir will plug the lake's leak, but it's not clear if that will be enough to prevent it from drying up.

The hamlet's water problem began in 1998 when an unusually sudden spring thaw filled Kugluk Lake and a higher lake known as Water Lake to overflowing. The high water level caused the two lakes to breach their banks, creating a stream connecting the two previously unconnected lakes. A new stream also sprung from Kugluk Lake to the harbour and the water levels for both lakes has been falling ever since.

The water level in Kugluk Lake has fallen by 80 centimetres since last year, according to measurements taken by Peter Nogasak, the hamlet foreman. Nogasak says the lake was only two to 2.5 meters deep at the best of times, and it's now fallen to 1.6 m at its deepest point.

The hamlet fills its reservoir from this Kugluk Lake once each year. Before pumping began last month, the intake pipe had to be moved further out to a deeper spot.

The shallow water is also creating a different concern -- water quality. When the water levels fell, the shoreline expanded and waterfowl moved in, creating additional concerns about bird droppings going into the lake. The shallow water also means the reservoir is taking in more silt and other debris too.

Still, the water is safe to drink -- for now, says Pokiak. "There's really nothing wrong with the water today but we have reason to be concerned in the future. Next year, we're going to have to fill our reservoir from another lake source we know which lake we have to move to, it's just a matter of getting government to help us with the financial support."

Pokiak says he's hoping the hamlet and the territorial government will be able to reach an agreement about what to do by the end of November at the latest.