Sicknesses spread as Puvirnituq, Que., struggles to restore water flow through frozen pipe [Video]

Efforts to restore water flow in Puvirnituq, Que., are being blocked by bad weather, as residents continue to struggle with the spread of sicknesses and days on end without water delivery.

The village’s pipeline, which connects the water pumping station to the treatment plant, has been frozen since at least March. That has forced the village to drive farther out of town to truck in water and have it manually chlorinated, slowing delivery to the community of roughly 2,100 people. 

The Kativik Regional Government (KRG) said those issues have deteriorated further now, with extreme winter conditions and several water delivery trucks still out of action. 

Muncy Novalinga, who lives in Puvirnituq, said many in his community are continuing to go days — even weeks, now — without water delivery. 

“It’s the worst I’ve seen it … to make matters worse, right now, our road system is full of slush. The water trucks are getting stuck,” he …