.
Search
Email this articleE-mail this story  Discuss this articleWrite letter to editor  Discuss this articleOrder a classified ad
Taps flow in Dorset

Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Cape Dorset (Mar 25/02) - A state of emergency has been called off in the South Baffin community of Cape Dorset.

The hamlet's senior administrator, Art Stewart, said last week the ruptured pipeline was repaired and operational by 7 p.m. Wednesday.

"We started putting water into our reservoir tank last night," said Stewart.

"We had a radio show and a lot of people phoned in to comment it would be nice to get regular water and shower and not be scared about wasting water," he said.

The hamlet declared the state of emergency March 9 when the heating system protecting the pipeline froze and ruptured in 12 places. Water could no longer be piped into the 500,000-litre reservoir tank and residents were asked to be extremely conservative with water use.

A Hercules aircraft landed in the hamlet Saturday night with replacement pipe. Repair work began Sunday morning.

Stewart said as a preventative measure, they planned to closely monitor the pipeline until a new system is completely installed. Work began on replacing the pipeline last fall, but cold October weather in Cape Dorset forced workers to put off completion until this summer.

Stewart said finishing the job was a priority.

"It was the old pipeline that ruptured. We'll watch this extremely closely to make sure it lasts until July when the new pipeline is commissioned by the government," he added.

Stewart was not able to comment on the final cost of the episode, but said the tab would be picked up the territorial government.