Fred Behrens, SAO of Wekweètì estimates it could take about two weeks for the community’s water treatment system to go back online following system damage officials say was caused by an extended power outage last week.
In the meantime, crews and community leadership are working with the Community and Municipal Affairs ministry as they wait for pipes and other parts to arrive to do the needed repairs, said Behrens.
“We have been working with MACA staff to identify all the damages and currently have an electrician in looking at the backup generator as to why it didn’t start.”
Vic Barr, Manager, Naka Power Utilities said the outage was caused by a mechanical issue with two of the community’s three generation units. Crews worked to restore power from Thursday evening to Friday as temperatures in the region are currently in the minus 35 zone. About 75 per cent of the community saw power returned by morning, with power fully restored by Friday afternoon.
In a period of about one week, multiple power outages also hit other areas of NWT including three separate outages in Hay River, Enterprise and Kátł’odeeche First Nation. Doug Prentergast of NTPC says the exact cause of the Jan. 9 outage remains unknown.
Prendergast said the company expects to provide an update on the schedule for a return to service of the Talston Hydro station sometime this month. The company says that “To ensure reliability and reduce the environmental impact of the electricity sector, aging infrastructure must be replaced or refurbished.”
At about 4 pm on Friday, GNWT’s Chief Environmental Health officer Chirag Rohit issued a precautionary advisory for Wekweètì, recommending that water be brought to a rolling boil for one minute prior to use for drinking consumption or oral hygiene.
The community of Wekweètì is among a number of other jurisdictions and areas of the N.W.T. currently under a water advisory.
Last week following the advisory for Wrigley, Chief Environmental Health Officer Chirag Rohit said the growing list of active water advisories in the N.W.T. are caused by a host of issues, including aging infrastructure and climate change.
“These are not related to one single issue or one single situation,” said the Chief Environmental Health Officer.
Earlier this month, Dr. Rohit said that while the water advisories calls for community governments to work together and respond, current policy also alots responsibility on the shoulders of private homeowners and businesses.
Last week, an advisory was issued for Wrigley following mechanical failures at the water treatment plant. Hay River, Kátł’odeeche, Enterprise, Ka’a’gee Tu water, Fort Liard, are also under advisories.
A number of schools across the N.W.T. have also fallen under advisories due to plumbing infrastructure believed to have remnants of lead. Recently, there have also been findings of elevated lead in city buildings, including Yellowknife city hall.
When asked to comment on the situation of water contamination in the territory, Dr. Rohit affirmed that it’s far from a “singular” issue or situation, but involves a number of moving parts.
Dr. Rohit said that aging infrastructure and climate change and its impacts on the environment are among the main factors involved.
“Us in environmental health and the community governments who own those treatment plants continuously to work together, make sure we are continuously monitoring the water and public health. Make sure that we timely notify people for additional action that they can take to protect their health. I think that’s all I can say at this point,” said the Chief Environmental Health Officer.
