Nunavut gov't officials to help with Pond Inlet sewage woes

The Nunavut government is sending officials to Pond Inlet to help the community deal with its sewage and water issues, after the Hamlet declared a state of emergency last week.

Pond Inlet had been struggling to provide sewage services since mid-December, when two out of the community's three sewage trucks broke down. With only one small truck in service, sewage tanks had been overflowing for two months, leaving residents begging for additional trucks from the territorial government.

In addition, the generator that pumps the hamlet's drinking water from a nearby lake was not working last week. The hamlet had to manually fill water trucks and ensure chlorination.  But the generator has since been repaired and is back in operation.

The sewage situation has also improved. The government sent a mechanic to Pond Inlet last week and a bigger sewage truck is now back in service.  The hamlet says it is now waiting for a part to repair a second truck.

But residents are still worried that there could be problems. 

"Once [the last truck] breaks, we'll be down to nothing again," says Sheena Akoomalik, a resident of Pond Inlet. "We should at least get something sent in an emergency, because our lifestyle is being affected very much, including some diseases. 

"The people of Pond Inlet are asking for help."

Akoomalik's plea was echoed earlier this week by Tununiq MLA Joe Enook, who asked the government to supply two sewage trucks to the community.

Darren Flynn, the assistant deputy minister for the the territory's department of community government services, says flying a sewage truck into the community is not a simple proposition. 

"You can't walk into Wal-Mart and pick one up," he says. "They're specialty vehicles.

"And right now, based on what we can see with the restrictions on the Hercules, we wouldn't just be able to bring one in assembled. We'd have to bring one in disassembled, and then put it together there."

Flynn says he will be in Pond Inlet with the department's regional director on Wednesday to check on the situation. He says they hope to come up with a long-term plan, to help prevent similar emergencies from happening again.