On Wednesday, Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell took the time to express gratitude to the Nunavut government, which has pledged to fly in around 80,000 liters of water to help the city combat fuel contamination concerns over the next three days.
"We're grateful for that," Bell said of the aid.
Per a public health advisory issued earlier this week, residents of the capital city should "not consume tap water for drinking or cooking, until further notice." This also applies to baby formula mixtures.
Pregnant women, as well as newborns and infants, were also told to not bathe in the tap water.
The advisory came well after social media reports claimed residents had reported illness after drinking tap water, according to The Star. The mayor said the advisory was not issued immediately because the city and Nunavut government agreed that it was not necessary. Furthermore, water tests were meeting the national standards.
"There was no uptake of stomach sicknesses, no chemical burns," said Mayor Bell. "So, what do you do?"
However, the alert was ultimately posted after a gas smell was noticed to be emitting from an access vault that was unsealed by public works staffers.
Bell says the city will "definitely" know what is happening once further tests come back.