Cryofront: News, Views and Muse from the Far North
The extreme costs of Northern “Liquid Assets” By Ken Johnson, Stantec The extreme cost of northern water, for both capital cost and the operation and maintenance costs, is a reality that northern water practitioners are very familiar with and manage, as best they can, as part of their work in the north. However, periodic reality checks on these extreme costs even surprise the most experienced northern water practitioner. Such is the case with the recent tenders received for piped water and sewer replacement in Resolute, Nunavut (See Figure). Resolute is the second most northerly community in Canada, situated on Cornwallis Island at 74°42’N and 94°50’ W. The community has a population of approximately 250, and is served by a shallow buried piped water and sewer system that was constructed in the mid 1970s. The climate in Resolute is particularly challenging, with the average annual temperature being a chilly -16.7°C, and the lowest recorded temperature being - 52.2°C. The permanent community of Resolute was established in 1953
76 | Western Canada Water | Fall 2013
as part of an effort to assert Canadian sovereignty in the high arctic during the Cold War, because of the area’s strategic geopolitical position. This led the Government of Canada to forcibly relocate Inuit from northern Quebec to Resolute, and also to Grise Fiord. Expectations of establishing a significant northern presence in the 1970s prompted the Government of Canada to establish a new Resolute townsite adjacent to the existing townsite with shallow buried piped water and sewer system. The expectation at the time was that Resolute would grow to a population of several thousand people; this growth never occurred, and Resolute has maintained a population of only several hundred people. The water and sewer system has encountered operating challenges associated with freezing of the piping, and significant operating costs associated with high rates of water bleeding to prevent freezing. The steady deterioration of the system prompted the Government of the
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