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Mayor Danny Beaulieu of Fort Providence says the community is hauling in water from Hay River because extremely low water has affected its own treatment plant.
Mayor Beaulieu said he was told the hamlet’s water pump has been down since early Tuesday. In messages online, residents were told the issue is “extreme low water levels at the Fort Providence intake.”
Residents are being advised to conserve water until fresh supplies can be brought in from Hay River while the broader problem is addressed.
“It’s been low all summer. I expected this was going to happen. We made people aware of it,” Beaulieu told Cabin Radio of the Mackenzie River’s water level and its impact on the community.
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“We have people working on it, so they’ll figure something out. Probably pump water over the surface to the water plant.”
For the past two years, water levels have remained low across large areas of the Northwest Territories – including at most points along the Mackenzie River, which is a part of Canada’s longest river system.
According to NWT government water monitoring bulletins, levels and flow rates at most locations along the Mackenzie have been “well below average” for most of this year. Great Slave Lake remains at its lowest recorded water level for this time of year. This summer, insufficient rain fell to improve conditions.
The territorial government says the two-year drought is what triggered the cancellation of resupply barges for Tulita, Norman Wells and Fort Good Hope this summer. Leader in affected communities have spoken about the financial and other impacts of losing barge resupply in areas where there is no road access.
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In Fort Providence, Beaulieu said trucks will take four hours each to make the drive from Hay River with water until a local solution is found.
He had no estimated timeframe for local service to be restored, though he expected that process could take some time.
“People will have to reserve water because it’s a long wait to haul right now. Hopefully, in a couple of days we can get it going,” he said.
“People have to reserve water. We are going to make sure the sensitive places get water first but not full amounts. Just take shorter showers and hopefully things will work out.”
