1 Pond Inlet sewage truck fixed, hamlet still in state of emergency
'We're not in an extreme emergency,' says mayor
The mayor of Pond Inlet, Nunavut, says that while one of two broken-down sewage trucks in the hamlet has been repaired, the community will remain in a state of emergency until both are operational.
Territorial government officials sent mechanics to Pond Inlet earlier this week to repair the two trucks. Both trucks broke down in mid-December, leaving only a third, smaller truck in service.
Since then, Pond Inlet has dealt with overflows of sewage in multiple areas of the community, as well as issues with water service.
"We have certified mechanics making arrangements to charter a plane to bring in the parts," Charlie Inuarak, the mayor of Pond Inlet, said in Inuktitut. "We're not in an extreme emergency. We'll have the third working and hopefully [the trucks] will last until summer."
Officials from the Government of Nunavut's Department of Community and Government Services met with hamlet officials in Pond Inlet yesterday. The director of protection services, Ed Zebedee, says special tools and vehicle parts will be flown into the community on Saturday to finish repairs on the remaining truck.
Inuarak says that the state of emergency will be lifted as soon as the third truck is back on the road.