4 years of boil advisories expected to end in Whale Cove with new treatment plant

Whale Cove, Nunavut, has been under summer boil water advisories for the past four years, but a new treatment plant is expected to end this.

The summer boil water advisories were due to a risk of coliform bacteria. Coliforms are a group of bacteria that are naturally found on plants and in soils, water, and in human and animal waste, according to Health Canada.

Risks related to the bacteria exist during the warmer temperatures in summer, so the boil water advisory was ended earlier this week.

According to Tim Brown, the director of community infrastructure for the territory's department of community and government services, the hamlet's new treatment plant was operational for a short while in August, but experienced mechanical problems and was shut down for the season.

The plant produced coliform-free water, but the fill time for water trucks was slower than expected.

A boil water advisory due to coliform risk continued this summer even when the plant was open, because the hamlet's water tanks need to be cleaned. The tanks will be cleaned this spring.

The plant is expected to be up and running this summer and is designed to operate seasonally.