QAUSUITTUQ/RESOLUTE - The fight is on to save Resolute's utilidor system.

Two weeks ago, the hamlet and Quttiktuq MLA Ron Elliott launched a petition against the territorial government's proposal to switch the town to trucked water from its aging utilidor system.

Currently, there are more than 80 signatures penned on its pages.

"Considering the size of Resolute and the number of adults here, we're doing pretty good," said Duncan Walker, SAO for the hamlet.

According to the 2006 Census, Resolute has a population of 229. Walker estimates about 100 to 120 of those people are adults.

He said he'd like people of all ages to have an opportunity to sign the petition and plans to bring the issue forward to council.

"It's going to impact everyone, so I think that (everyone) should have a chance to sign it," he said.

Walker also plans to go door-to-door - the petition is currently located in the hamlet office for residents to sign - to snag signatures from those who haven't made it down to the office.

"Another benefit of being a small community is we could probably pick out who didn't sign it," he laughed. "I'm hoping that there will be at least a few hundred (signatures)."

The utilidor system has been in place for about 35 years, having far outlasted its expected life. Normally, the systems last only 20 years, but steady repairs have kept Resolute's going.

But fearing it won't stay operational much longer, the territorial department of Community and Government Services (CGS) announced plans to scrap the system several months ago.

"We've had some near catstrophic issues with the system in the past five years ... Our biggest concern is if we lose it in January, February, then we're all going to be screwed," Shawn Maley, then acting deputy minister for CGS told Nunavut News/North in June.

Residents are overwhelmingly against the switch because, among many things, they feel the trucked system is less sanitary, less reliable and a lot smellier.

However, the switch is not yet a sure thing. After CGS has crunched numbers to compare costs of the two systems, the plan will undergo review by the Financial Management Board (FMB). A new utilidor system will reportedly cost upwards of $30 million.

If it's given the go-ahead there, it will show up in the capital estimates cabinet goes through in November.

Before that happens, Resolute plans to possibly invite the CGS minister back to town to hear from community members.

The hamlet will also continue to discuss the issue at council "trying to figure out what route to go," said Walker.

If implemented, the switch to trucked water is expected to take two years.

Every house in town will have to be switched for compatibility to the new system.

Most communities in Nunavut are on a trucked system, except larger communities such as Rankin Inlet and Iqaluit.