Andrew Raven
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 14/05) - Five Northwest Territories communities with substandard drinking water will receive $15 million to fix their aging treatment plants and water mains, the federal and territorial governments announced Thursday.

About half of that money - $8.5 million - will be spent in Rae-Edzo, where the water has higher-than-recommended amounts of sediment and organic matter. The same problems exist in Aklavik, Tuktoyaktuk, Holman and Deline.

Officials from the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs - which is responsible for infrastructure - were not available for comment when News/North attempted to contact them on Thursday, Nov. 10. A spokesperson could not say how many other communities have similar problems.

While the water in those settlements may be cloudier than the national standards, medical health officer Dr. Kami Kandola said that does not mean it is undrinkable as the sediments alone are usually not harmful.

"The guidelines are quite rigorous," Kandola said. "That does not necessarily mean the water is unacceptable."

The sediments and organic matter can, however, reduce the effectiveness of chlorine, which is added to the water to kill bacteria, Kandola said. That means when the water gets cloudier, technicians have to conduct tests to make sure it is not contaminated - something Kandola said is done on a regular basis.

"If we maintain our surveillance system... there will be no problems," she said.

When the sediments are too thick, health officials will also issue boil water advisories, like one this summer in Rae-Edzo. Kandola said those instances are rare. The money for the upgrades in Rae-Edzo and the four other communities is part of nearly $65 million in federal pre-election goodies announced Thursday by Western Arctic MLA Ethel Blondin-Andrew.

Dubbed the "New Deal" for communities, the funds are intended to replace decaying infrastructure, a longstanding complaint from municipalities across the country.

About $37.5 million of the total will come from federal rebates on gas taxes over the next five years, which will be divided between the 33 communities in the NWT.

The money will be invested in eco-friendly projects like upgraded sewer systems, solar power and public transit. The goal, Blondin-Andrew said, will be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air and water quality.

"This will allow communities to plan for their future infrastructure needs," said Blondin-Andrew.

Some of the money for the upgrades in Rae-Edzo, Holman, Aklavik, Tukotoyaktuk and Deline will come from a separate $27.5 million infrastructure program from Ottawa. The territorial government will also contribute some funding, along with the communities themselves.

The plans call for the water treatment plant in Rae-Edzo to be upgraded and eventually replaced, along with the water and sewer pipes. The plant was built in the 1970s and is struggling to meet demand.

"Improvements in the water treatment process will reduce the risk of water-borne disease outbreaks," according to a media release from the government agencies.