On Thursday, Iqaluit city councillors heard a report from consultants who explained just how an aging fuel tank contaminated the city's water supply, and what steps it needed to take to fix the problem. Ian Moran, a water treatment process design engineer with WSP engineering firm, explained how the WSP team worked to find the "fingerprint" of petroleum hydrocarbons detected in October and again in January. The City of Iqaluit hired the firm in October, when Iqaluit residents reported a strong fuel smell in their drinking water. A state of emergency stemming from undrinkable tap water was declared Oct. 12, and would go on to last nearly two months. Five weeks later, residents again reported smelling fuel in the water, leading to a nine-day boil water advisory.