(Iqaluit) The Government of Nunavut says it has ended a state of emergency to address a water shortage in Iqaluit.
Posted yesterday at 5:20 p.m.
The territory had declared a state of emergency earlier this month to ensure its capital could obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to begin replenishing its reservoir.
The City had declared its own state of emergency a week earlier due to a lack of rainfall and therefore flow in the Apex River, Iqaluit’s secondary water replenishment source, which was at its lowest level since. 40 years.
Consequently, Lake Géraldine, which serves as a reservoir for the city, would not be replenished before the freeze-up.
Acting Minister of Community and Government Services Joanna Quassa says Iqaluit now has the regulatory approval needed to start pumping.
The City plans to transfer additional water from a nearby – unnamed – lake into the Apex River and then into Lake Geraldine.
The City says it will have to pump over 500 million liters of water.