(Iqaluit) The Government of Nunavut has declared a two-week state of emergency due to a water shortage in Iqaluit.
Posted at 4:13 p.m.
Acting Community and Government Services Minister Joanna Quassa said the move is to ensure the city can get the necessary regulatory approvals to begin filling its reservoir immediately.
The city declared its own state of emergency last week due to a lack of rainfall and the fact that the flow of the Apex River, the secondary source of Iqaluit’s water supply, is at an all-time low. for 40 years.
As a result, Lake Geraldine, which serves as a water reservoir for Iqaluit, would not be replenished before the freeze-up.
The city said it was working to get regulatory approval to pump additional water from nearby Unnamed Lake into the Apex River and then into Lake Geraldine.
Mme Quassa says the territorial government is working closely with the city and has agreed to provide equipment to support the pumping operation.