Officials confident Baker Lake's water is safe to drink

Recent tests done by the federal and Nunavut governments show that the drinking water in Baker Lake is safe, following concerns raised by a resident who alleged the water was making people ill.

In late May, Baker Lake resident Joan Scottie said people living in the hamlet of 1,730 were experiencing diarrhea and vomiting from the drinking water which comes from the lake of the same name possibly due to spring runoff from the hamlet's sewage lagoon.

Shortly after the allegations were made, federal inspectors tested the hamlet's drinking water for a slew of contaminants and minerals, from hydrocarbons to arsenic and iron.

They found that everything they tested for fell within national standards, said Michael Nadler, Nunavut regional director with the Indian and Northern Affairs Department.

"Water sampling at the waste discharge point in Baker Lake found water quality met [Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment] standards, and the water intake for the hamlet also met all CCME standards," Nadler told CBC News.

Nadler said inspectors did not test for phenols, a hazardous chemical, even though high phenol levels did turn up in one sample from Baker Lake in 2003.

Federal inspectors also did not test for the microscopic parasites giardia or cryptosporidium, which are known to cause diarrhea and other symptoms in the gastrointestinal system.

No reportsof illnessfrom drinking water: Nunavut health official

Nadler said federal inspectors usually do not test for those parasites because it's up to the local water treatment plant to get rid of them.

"The limit of our department's mandate is to test water quality at the sewage outlet point, and water quality at the water source intake point," Nadler said.

"In both instances, the water testing found that water met all CCME standards."

The Nunavut government is responsible for testing communities' drinking water at the treatment plant and at the tap.

Peter Workman, an environmental health consultant with Nunavut's Health Department, said Baker Lake's tap water has not been tested for giardia for cryptosporidium becuase the hamlet's health centre has not reported any associated illnesses.

Other recent tests of the hamlet's drinking water have shown it's safe, Workman added.

"The latest results in the seven to eight months were zero[and] zero,which means there's no coliforms and no E. coli present in that water," Workman said.

Workman said any residents who are feeling sick, and suspect the water is to blame, should visit the local public health centre for further testing.