Hooking up to utilidor costly for Iqaluit residents

Residents in Iqaluit's Lower Base neighbourhood say they want the city to help them pay for switching to the municipal utilidor water system.

Nine of 51 homeowners expected to switch from trucked water to the utilidor system attended a public meeting Wednesday night.

The city says the utilidor system is safer and cheaper to operate, but will cost each homeowner $8,000-$20,000 to connect to the series of above-ground pipes.

"It looks good on paper but the fact of the matter is, I think very few if any people in the lower base area can come up with $10-$20,000," says resident Rob Eno.

The city maintains the utilidor system will save it millions of dollars and is safer because it will take water and sewer trucks off the road.

Thirty-nine homes already made the switch last year.

"The concerns you have are the same concerns residents had that were hooked up the last time, when we put the water lines into the other areas," says Glenn Williams, one of five councillors at the meeting. "Right now, the community is not sustainable the way we're delivering water and sewer."

The project is expected to cost the city $1.7 million.

Administration is hoping for some additional financial assistance from the government of Nunavut, though that has yet to be finalized.

Council must still decide if and when the project goes ahead. It meets again next Tuesday.