CNGO SOA2021 Paper 06 Elliott Et Al - en
CNGO SOA2021 Paper 06 Elliott Et Al - en
CNGO SOA2021 Paper 06 Elliott Et Al - en
Elliott, J., Clayden, M.G., Clouter, K., Collins, S., Tremblay, T. and LeBlanc-Havard, M. 2022: Community water quality data across
Nunavut: an introduction to available data for community water supplies; in Summary of Activities 2021, Canada-Nunavut Geoscience
Office, p. 57–68.
Abstract
There are several existing stressors for managing Arctic drinking water systems including water availability, staffing chal-
lenges and logistical issues. Managing these systems will likely become more difficult due to impacts of climate change,
such as changes in the timing and quantity of precipitation, chemical release from thawing permafrost and altered runoff re-
gime. The Government of Nunavut’s Department of Community and Government Services collects water quality data from
drinking water sources one to four times a year in keeping with applicable regulations. Work is being done to consolidate
this data, which will inform the design of broader water quality monitoring, as the Government of Nunavut prepares for ex-
panded water management responsibilities.
A more regular schedule of data collection would help establish temporal and seasonal trends in water quality. Future work
could also better characterize permafrost conditions and assess links between surficial geology and water quality. For exam-
ple, in 2016, the concentration of salts increased in Sanikiluaq’s drinking water source, reaching levels above the chloride
aesthetic objective. The authors hypothesize that frozen salty water trapped in marine sediments was released from thawing
permafrost due to an increase in the annual average air temperature. Developing longer term baseline data on water quality
and other geotechnical characteristics of community source watersheds can help identify changes as they happen and miti-
gate potential risks associated with climate change.
This publication is available, free of charge, as colour digital files in Adobe Acrobat® PDF format from the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience
Office website: https://cngo.ca/summary-of-activities/2021/. Il est aussi disponible en français sur https://cngo.ca/fr/.
The frequency of sampling is prescribed by the Nunavut Data were accessed through CGS’s water quality database
Public Water Supply Regulations, part of the Public Health (managed in WaterTrax® software), which contains rou-
Act, and minimum collection schedules are administered by tinely collected water quality data from community source
the GN’s Department of Health. Raw and treated water at waters from 2014 onward. Available parameters are listed
the water treatment plant must be sampled for water quality in Table 2. In addition, data from 2013 and earlier are stored
analyses once every two years. However, this schedule var- in electronic and paper formats that are also being standard-
ies among communities as specific events and circum- ized for eventual inclusion in WaterTrax. WaterTrax is pri-
stances may require adjustments to the treatment process. marily used as an operational tool for storing and accessing
Sampling is recommended to take place more often, specif- recent drinking water quality data, including data from raw
Table 2: Availability of water sampling data from Nunavut’s communities by number of available data points since 2016. The Government of
Nunavut, Department of Community and Government Services’ water quality database, WaterTrax, contains data from samples collected one
or two times a year at each of the communities.
corrode the distribution system, but there is no direct im- rine sediments based on a combination of geomorpholog-
pact on human health. When the aesthetic objective is ex- ical observations and recent climate data presented in this
ceeded, people are more likely to reduce their water con- section. A preliminary geomorphological examination, us-
sumption or seek water from unapproved sources (World ing Google Earth satellite images, revealed that about 10–
Health Organization, 2006). 30% of the reservoir watershed is composed of marine sedi-
ments. The marine sediments were deposited when the is-
In July 2016, chloride levels had decreased to 265 mg/L land was submerged under the sea (Dyke et al., 2018) fol-
(EXP, 2016) but unpublished CGS data (Figure 4) show lowing deglaciation approximately 8.7 ka (Dalton et al.,
that chloride levels remained elevated after the initial spike 2020). When the sea retreated from the elevation of the res-
in 2014. Interviews with community members revealed that ervoir about 800 years ago (Vacchi et al., 2018), seawater
there were issues with the taste of the water throughout the was trapped and frozen in the sediments. The recent climate
year, although it was most noticeable during the spring warming of about 1.2°C observed between 1990 and 2010
freshet (EXP, 2016). More recent and regular monitoring (ClimateData.ca, 2021; Figure 3) likely progressively
confirms that, although there is seasonal variation, chloride warmed the permafrost and consequently deepened the ac-
is regularly above the aesthetic objective. tive layer, as observed in nearby communities (Fortier et
al., 2011). The warming may have thawed a thin upper salt-
The engineering report (EXP, 2016) mentions that no field rich layer in the fine-grained marine sediments. The thaw-
evidence was found to link the source of salts to intrusions ing would cause the gradual release of salty water into the
of road salt, saltwater or salt spray or issues with the water overlying watershed and ultimately into the drinking water
treatment, water distribution or truck fill systems, and that source (e.g., Lamhonwah et al., 2017). Several of the sur-
the problem was not just due to seasonality or daily varia- rounding ponds, which are underlain by bedrock, had con-
tions in conditions. It is suggested that the source of the ductivities between 30 and 80 ìS/cm in 2016 compared to
salts may be from thawing permafrost in fine-grained ma- the reservoir and adjacent lakes that had conductivities of
approximately 1000 ìS/cm (EXP, 2016). The difference in needed to properly understand and appropriately manage
conductivities also suggests that permafrost thaw may be the new conditions. Different management strategies in-
the source of the solute. Similar mobilization of previously clude adopting alternative technologies, such as in
frozen solute from thawing permafrost to freshwater lakes Sanikiluaq, or using an alternate water source. Adequate
has been observed in the High Arctic of Canada (Lamhon- data on primary and alternate drinking water sources is key
wah et al., 2017; Roberts et al., 2017). The Sanikiluaq case to determining how quickly communities are able to adapt
study suggests that permafrost thaw, driven by climate and identify safe alternative supplies or implement new
change, can affect the quality of community source water, technologies. This case also highlights the need for more
through the release of dissolved elements previously frozen holistic and routine data collection in primary and alterna-
beneath the active layer. Further investigation is needed to tive source watersheds to anticipate and adapt more quickly
better understand the link between thawing permafrost and to changes in water quality or quantity. In addition to im-
water quality. proving the collection of water quality data, a better under-
standing of local permafrost characteristics (ice richness,
To address the issue of poor water quality, reverse osmosis total depth, salinity and active layer depth) is needed.
units were installed in most homes in Sanikiluaq as an in-
terim measure until a new water treatment plant, capable of Economic considerations
treating brackish water, can be built. The authors note that
cases like Sanikiluaq require costly intervention—the an- Accurate data is essential to understanding the relationship
nual cost of maintaining the reverse osmosis system is esti- between water quality and its local context (geography, ge-
mated to be between $80 000 and $100 000. A proper un- ology, hydrology, engineering constraints, proximity to
derstanding of how water quality is being impacted is other infrastructure, etc.) so informed decisions can be
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