The Town of Hay River will hold a public meeting at 7pm on Thursday to try to answer questions about a drinking-water advisory issued for the region this week.
In a notice, the town said the NWT government’s environmental health team and the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs will also be in attendance.
The meeting will take place at the community hall.
“The session will provide updates on the advisory, outline precautionary measures, and discuss both short-term actions and long-term solutions,” the town stated. There will be a Q&A period and the town will livestream the meeting on YouTube.
Earlier this week, the NWT’s chief environmental health officer told residents in Hay River, Kátł’odeeche First Nation, Enterprise and Kakisa to take precautions with drinking water because of high levels of disinfection byproducts known as trihalomethanes – or THMs – in the communities’ drinking water.
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The territory said while no illness have been reported, it issued the drinking water advisory “out of an abundance of caution” as lifetime exposure to high levels of THMs may increase the risk of cancer.
According to the health advisory, THMs are caused by the reaction of chlorine with naturally occurring organic material in the water, such as plants and vegetation.
The NWT government said it is collaborating with the Town of Hay River to monitor water quality and efforts are under way to reduce the level of THMs in the water.
