Iqaluit Declares Emergency as Petroleum Suspected in Water Supply

Iqaluit city council declared a state of local emergency because some type of petroleum may have contaminated the city’s water supply, the city’s senior administrative officer, Amy Elgersma announced during an emergency council meeting Tuesday.

There is no information on how the petroleum may have entered the water supply or when it happened, Nunatsiaq News reports.

To help residents get water, Elgersma said the city had two water depots open where the city was distributing water from the Sylvia Grinnell River. She said that no one should consume the city’s tap water.

Iqualuit has some 7,000 inhabitants and is the capital of Nunavut. It is located on Baffin Island.