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Northwest Territories

City of Whitehorse facing $39M upgrade to keep clean water flowing

City of Whitehorse facing $39M upgrade to keep clean water flowing

The City of Whitehorse is facing a pricey upgrade to its water treatment system, after officials noticed changes in the quality of the city's groundwater in recent years. The proposal is to add a new filtration system, at a price of about $39 million — and the city is not yet sure where that money will come from. There's also a timeline, as the work would need to be done before the city's water licence comes up for renewal in five years. "At no time is our water not safe to drink," said Mike Firlotte, the city's water and wastewater services manager.

N.W.T. diamond mine reports spill of 450 million litres of wastewater

N.W.T. diamond mine reports spill of 450 million litres of wastewater

The Diavik Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories says 450 million litres of wastewater spilled due to a broken pipeline. The spill took place on Feb. 7 but wasn't reported to the Northwest Territories government until late last week. The territorial government says pipeline operators did not initially believe it needed to be reported as the wastewater leaked into a containment pond that was its final destination.

YukonU aims to bring training videos to future water treatment operators across Canada

YukonU aims to bring training videos to future water treatment operators across Canada

Jon Widney can't help but smile as he talks about the way students studying to be water treatment operators are being taught today. "It would have been an easier learning process, that's for sure," said Widney. Widney is an instructor in the water and wastewater operator program at Yukon University in Whitehorse. That process he's referring to is a new learning tool the university is developing in partnership with the Calgary NGO Water Movement.

Report on 'historic' 2022 Rainy Lake-area flooding calls for watershed access app, emergency floodway study

Report on 'historic' 2022 Rainy Lake-area flooding calls for watershed access app, emergency floodway study

A draft report on flooding in the Rainy River area of Ontario last year recommends the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board look into the development of a new app that would provide easy access to information about the area's watershed. The board's Water Levels Committee, which has both a Canadian and U.S. component, released the report on its website on Friday. It sheds light on the spring 2022 flooding and includes recommendations on how to better handle any such disasters in the future.

Alberta premier says Imperial Oil should have disclosed tailings pond spills

Alberta premier says Imperial Oil should have disclosed tailings pond spills

Alberta's energy regulator may have ignored provincial law by not publicly disclosing that waste from a large oilsands tailings pond was escaping containment and seeping into groundwater, says a lawyer. Drew Yewchuk of the University of Calgary's Public Interest Law Clinic is asking the province's information and privacy commissioner to investigate how and why the Alberta Energy Regulator chose not to release information on the leak at Imperial Oil's Kearl mine, despite direction in provincial law to do so.

GNWT seeks multi-year federal funding for Hay River dredging

GNWT seeks multi-year federal funding for Hay River dredging

The issue of dredging in Hay River’s harbour has been on the table for years. Various branches of government have said the issue is not their responsibility, or they have no money to fund it. In the meantime, barges are dragged through silt, boats are damaged, and fishers say the shallow water is hard to safely navigate. In August last year, two barges became stuck in the channel leading to Great Slave Lake.

Former mine site at Pine Point, N.W.T., 1 step closer to seeing new mine open

Former mine site at Pine Point, N.W.T., 1 step closer to seeing new mine open

Pine Point, N.W.T., could have a fully operational lead and zinc mine within the next five years — nearly four decades after the old mine closed down and the nearby community was abandoned. In 2022, Pine Point Mining Limited received its Type A water licence, allowing it to withdraw water to be used for mineral exploration drilling, camp use, dust suppression and testing, among other things. 

Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., leaders optimistic Imperial Oil visit marks turning point in relationship

Fort Good Hope, N.W.T., leaders optimistic Imperial Oil visit marks turning point in relationship

Imperial Oil said it's going to start the process of renewing licences with the Sahtu Land and Water Board and the Canada Energy Regulator to operate in the Sahtu. The new permits would allow them to keep extracting oil in Norman Wells for another decade.  An Imperial Oil representative declined to do an interview at the open house, saying staff were not trained to speak to the media. 

Imperial Oil visiting Sahtu communities in N.W.T. this week

Imperial Oil visiting Sahtu communities in N.W.T. this week

Imperial Oil is travelling to all five Sahtu communities in the N.W.T. this week for what it's calling "neighbour week."  The 143-year-old company says the purpose of the visits are for people to learn about its oil operation in Norman Wells, N.W.T., to ask questions, and to provide feedback. Company representatives will be in Norman Wells on Monday, Fort Good Hope on Tuesday, Tulita on Wednesday, Délı̨nę on Thursday and Colville Lake on Friday.

Fiercer storms and bigger waves hasten Tuk’s erosion crisis

Fiercer storms and bigger waves hasten Tuk’s erosion crisis

The Northwest Territories hamlet has spent years coming up with a plan to move some homes away from its rapidly eroding coast, but the problem could be complicated by erosion of an island that currently protects Tuktoyaktuk’s harbour. With less sea ice cover, storms have more open water across which to whip up waves that can batter the community and hasten erosion.

Great Bear Lake agreement gives 'us the ability to actually sit at the table, says Délįnę chief

Great Bear Lake agreement gives 'us the ability to actually sit at the table, says Délįnę chief

The Délįnę Got'įnę government and its federal and territorial counterparts have agreed on further protection for Great Bear Lake or TsáTué, a UNESCO-recognized biosphere reserve. The new agreement will enhance conservation of the area and will lead to long-term funding. It also formally recognizes the Sahtugot'ine's millennia-long stewardship in the Northwest Territories region. "It's a step in the right direction," said Danny Gaudet, the Délįnę Got'įnę government's Ɂek'wahtı̨dǝ́ or chief. "It's finally given us the ability to actually sit at the table to talk about the preservation of water, the lake, and the water bed and the land in and around Great Bear Lake."

Tłı̨chǫ concerned after N.W.T. rejects Wek'eezhii's initial plan for Diavik reclamation

Tłı̨chǫ concerned after N.W.T. rejects Wek'eezhii's initial plan for Diavik reclamation

The Tłı̨chǫ Government expressed "concern" over the N.W.T's decision not to approve an application by Diavik Diamond Mine to begin a process of progressive reclamation. The Tłı̨chǫ raised its issue with the decision in a letter dated July 27, stating the problem is around jurisdiction. The letter was addressed to Shane Thompson, the minister of environment and natural resources, claiming he is ignoring the treaty by rejecting a recommendation by the Wek'èezhı̀ı Land and Water Board, the land management authority for the area created after the Tłı̨chǫ agreement.

A look at the most expensive federal remediation projects in Canada

A look at the most expensive federal remediation projects in Canada

The federal government is responsible for more than 20,000 contaminated sites in Canada. Here is a breakdown of the top five most expensive environmental cleanups where taxpayers are footing the bill. In some cases, public cost estimates have not been updated for several years. Giant Mine Estimated to cost $4.38 billion between 2005 and 2038.

Can you put a price on the impact of Yellowknife's Giant Mine?

Can you put a price on the impact of Yellowknife's Giant Mine?

Last week, the federal government revealed that cleaning up Yellowknife's Giant Mine is now projected to cost $4.38 billion instead of $1 billion. This is, by one measure, greater than the mine's total estimated revenues during its operation. Quantifying, in dollar terms, the impact of the mine on the local economy, the environment, and the people who live on and use the area's land and water is complicated, if not impossible.

N.W.T.'s Daniel T'seleie at COP27 says 'land back' to Indigenous people part of climate solution

N.W.T.'s Daniel T'seleie at COP27 says 'land back' to Indigenous people part of climate solution

Daniel T'seleie, who is with the Keepers of Water, and Indigenous Climate Action, both Indigenous-led organisation focusing on climate change action, said climate change solutions on the agenda for COP27, like carbon trading, don't address what really needs to be done. "The only way to stop climate change," he said, "is to stop the extraction and use of fossil fuels. If that's not the flagship then we're not going to stop the climate crisis."

Paradise Gardens farmers face uncertain future due to fears of more spring flooding in southern N.W.T.

Paradise Gardens farmers face uncertain future due to fears of more spring flooding in southern N.W.T.

Devastating flooding last spring has many in the farming community around Hay River, N.W.T., contemplating their future. Andrew Cassidy and Helen Green, owners of Greenwood Gardens, are still deciding on their next move as they grapple with what's left of their home and business after floodwaters tore through the Paradise Gardens valley in May. "The flooding was really damaging, like it washed away soil, it washed away our raised beds," Cassidy said.

Cost to recover from Hay River's flood expected to top $174 million

Cost to recover from Hay River's flood expected to top $174 million

The N.W.T. government says it expects flood recovery for Hay River and the Kátł'odeeche Fırst Nation to cost more than $174 million. That figure comes from a report tabled last week in the Legislative Assembly. The report shows the government expects to spend $112.4 million by the end of this fiscal year, and an additional $61.7 million over the next fiscal year, to cover damages and losses from the flood that swept through those communities this past spring. The town, along with surrounding First Nations, experienced historic flooding in May that forced residents to evacuate. Floodwaters damaged roads, homes and key infrastructure — like water treatment plant lines and the landfill.

N.W.T. looking for dredging money, but not on one Hay River MLA's timeline

N.W.T. looking for dredging money, but not on one Hay River MLA's timeline

An N.W.T. MLA is pleading with the territory's infrastructure minister to dredge the Hay River harbour. Rocky Simpson, who represents Hay River South, said the process of removing silt and mud from the bottom of bodies of water is essential for the safety and navigation of vessels — which resupply communities, ship construction materials, and carry out search and rescue missions, among other things.

Gold, arsenic and murder: A look at the complex history of N.W.T.’s Giant Mine

Gold, arsenic and murder: A look at the complex history of N.W.T.’s Giant Mine

A team working to address environmental and health effects from a former gold mine outside Yellowknife has provided an update on the effort to clean up one of the most contaminated places in Canada. The Giant Mine Remediation Project, co-managed by the Canadian and Northwest Territories governments, is expected to take until 2038 to complete. Arsenic trioxide waste stored underground is anticipated to require perpetual maintenance.

Cleaning up Giant Mine will take longer and cost much more than planned

Cleaning up Giant Mine will take longer and cost much more than planned

Another major project expected in 2023 is construction of a year-round water treatment plant, which will allow the cleanup team to stop storing water on-site for much of each year, in turn hastening the speed at which the site can be remediated. A lot of the work still to come involves, at least in part, managing water and reducing the risk contamination of that water might pose.

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