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Work is still taking place to remove the scars of Hay River’s 2022 flood, even though two wildfires and related evacuations have come and gone in the interim.
The cost of the flood that hit Hay River and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation two years ago has previously been estimated by the NWT government at $174 million.
“We’ve still got people recovering from the flood, let alone the fire,” Mayor of Hay River Kandis Jameson told Cabin Radio last week.
Aspects of that recovery include people trying to overcome financial distress and find long-term housing. Meanwhile, work continues to remediate areas around the communities that were contaminated when the worst flood on record rolled in.
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This month, the GNWT is expected to conclude its search for someone to clean up hydrocarbon-contaminated sites in Paradise Gardens, Garden Road, Back Road Drive and on the Mackenzie Highway.
The aim is to address “environmental contamination concerns at various locations,” a request for proposals states.
Of 43 sites initially assessed, the GNWT has concluded that six have “petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in exceedance of NWT criteria.” One of the six sites has BTEX contamination, referring to a set of volatile organic compounds found in petroleum and associated products.
The latest work, overseen by the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, doesn’t have a public budget figure associated with it.
The GNWT says it hopes to sign a contract this month and have work run until the end of the calendar year, with the possibility of up to a five-month extension if needed.
