Sewage spill costs thousands
Clam advisory still in effect for areas around Pangnirtung
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, October 12, 2015
PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG
Problems in the wastewater treatment plant in Pangnirtung caused a sewage spill that impacted clam harvesters and will come with a hefty repair bill.
"We have finally finished cleaning the inside of the wastewater treatment plant, so it's safe for people to go in and out of it," said senior administrative officer Shawn Trepanier on Oct. 8.
On the inside of the plant is an aerator tank and a membrane tank which were producing too much foam and lead to an overflow. That spurred the Government of Nunavut to issue a clam advisory warning for residents not to harvest around Kingardjuak Point, Aulatsivik Point or anywhere within 10 km of Pangnirtung.
"We received the anti-foaming agent on Monday, so the sewage plant is no longer overflowing and we have slowly started bringing our raw sewage into the plant and processing it, and hopefully by (Oct. 9) it will be fully functional," said Trepanier.
It will still take about a week to bring the plant up to full capacity.
The hamlet brought in specialists to work on the system, and without a report from them yet, Trepanier said he's still unsure what caused the foaming problem to begin with.
"We're still trying to figure that out," he said. "We believe it was a mechanical blockage of some sort."
He didn't know the total costs of the breakdown yet, but estimated it would be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
"I want to say thank you to everyone who's helped out with it, particularly the local people who have been very patient with it along with the contractors, public health and the Department of Community and Government Services for giving all their time and expertise with it," added Trepanier. "Without it, I don't think the hamlet would have been able to fully resolve this in a timely manner."
The clam advisory was still in effect at press time.
