Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Nov 26/01) - Forty-five homes in Lower Base could get their own water supply next summer thanks to a territorial government grant, although others may have to wait another year.

Iqaluit received $300,000 from the government of Nunavut to help homeowners pay for the utilidor hookup procedure, which in the past has cost as much as $20,000 per house.

A water main was installed in the Lower Base neighbourhood last year. An Iqaluit bylaw says all homes must be connected to the utilidor within three years of availability.

City engineer Matthew Hough said he expects to reduce costs to each resident by doing one mass hookup. "I'm hoping through tendering this as a whole that we'll realize some savings per home," said Hough.

A bulk installation also allows the city to even out costs. The main runs down one side of the road, meaning hooking up one side will cost more than the other. The city wants to charge each homeowner the same fee.

One important unfinished detail is the financing. If residents do not pay up front, the city can increase taxes or up lease rates.

The city has spent the last few weeks collecting data on the requirements for each house to be included in the project. Next on the agenda are public consultations to hammer out payment and installation issues.

"There's some talk of the municipality assisting in the financing, but we've got to see what the numbers are," said Coun. Keith Irving.

Uncertainties remain

Not everyone is happy, however. Lower Base resident Chris West was told he lives just beyond the outer boundary of the proposed mass hookup, and he does not want to wait another year for piped water.

"I certainly won't be impressed if my neighbour is hooked up and I'm 20 feet away and not hooked up," he said.

The definite boundaries for the hookup have not yet been set, said Hough. But the plan is to connect every building to the main. "Everybody with access to the mains will be included," Hough said.

Beyond this hookup, it is unlikely that many more houses will need similar connections anytime soon, said Coun. Matthew Spence. "We don't have any plans to put utilidor anywhere else in the community."

Council is now studying a capital projects plan that calls for $47 million in expenditures over the next five years.

But the city only has $3 million in its reserves, and is operating under a pay-as-it-goes policy.

"There's a looming crisis developing here," said Spence.

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