Search is on for new water source in Umiujaq, Que., as local spring dries up

The community of Umiujaq, Que., is looking for a new source of drinking water, after its water reservoir was found empty last year. 

Next to the village's water treatment plant is a large reservoir to store water collected during the summer. When it's full, it can hold roughly two years' worth of water for the community. 

Hossein Shafeghati, the Kativik Regional Government's municipal public works director, said he was notified in March 2024 that the reservoir had no more water. He brought in researchers from Université Laval to investigate. 

The researchers' theory is that the spring that Umiujaq draws water from has dried up, and thawing permafrost could be to blame. 

"They believe that the permafrost might have degraded and changed the slope. So that water is going somewhere else [away from the reservoir]," Shafeghati said. 

Last summer, the researchers flew in pumps to extract water from a part of the river further north, to ensure there is sufficient supply.

In the coming months, some of the researchers will be back in Umiujaq to look for a new, permanent water source near the community. 

Challenges of location

Richard Fortier is one of the researchers involved in the search for a new source. His team has identified several possible sites, but all have logistical challenges. One section of a local river, for example, is near a landfill. 

"If you want to use the surface water in the river, you have to pump the water uphill of the dump and the wastewater pump. Otherwise if you take it downhill, you are vulnerable to the contamination from the dump and the wastewater pump," Fortier said.

That would mean a more complex — and costly — construction job. 

Another researcher, Jean-Michel Lemieux, also floats the idea of underground water as a possible source, like in the other Nunavik communities of Salluit and Kuujjuarapik. The warmth from a body of water can create taliks – layers of unfrozen ground within a permafrost region.

Lemieux, who's studied the area for a decade, said there is a valley with groundwater, though it's several kilometres away from the village. But he believes it could be worth it, given groundwater is better quality – and tastes better — than surface water.

"The soil naturally filters the water, so there's bacteria, there's viruses. So the rock quality of the water that could be pumped from an aquifer is much better."

Once a viable new water source is identified, the Kativik Regional Government will need to get it approved with Quebec's Environment Ministry. 

It will also take time to build new infrastructure, so Shafeghati anticipates the entire process could take up to five years. 

Other impacts of climate change

Thawing permafrost, on areas with a slope, can cause active layer detachment.

"That is when that active layer sitting on the slope loses the attachment to the permafrost and then it slides down the slope. That's where you have landslides," Shafeghati explained.

The road to Umiujaq's airport could be at risk, he said, though he doesn't believe other parts of the village will need to be relocated because of permafrost degradation. However, it will be a factor in where they choose the new water source to be situated.

Last week, the Quebec government announced $1.85 million for landslide research in Nunavik. The province said that money will help Université Laval to map out landslide-prone areas in the region, and funding is also being provided to the Kativik Regional Government to improve risk management. 

In an email to CBC News, Umiujaq Mayor Jack Niviaxie said he's seeing the effects of climate change already in his community.

About 460 kilometres east of Umiujaq, climate change is also threatening the water in Tasiujaq.

That village, situated near Ungava Bay, is renowned for its high tides. Shafeghati said the tidal fluctuation there is greater than the Bay of Fundy, and rising sea levels could be pushing water further up the community's river.

"There are times in the year that there is salt water intrusion and there are sensors in the system that will shut down the pumping when there is salinity in the river," he said.

He said the system in Tasiujaq is fine for now, but in the new few decades, the community may have to consider moving the water pumping station further upriver.