After a five-year, $3.3 million study, Rob Jamieson, head of the Dalhousie Centre, and his team at Dalhousie University have come to the conclusion that a well-designed wastewater treatment system can improve Nunavut’s water quality.
The team of researchers from Dalhousie University’s Centre for Water Resources Studies say natural tundra filtration systems and sewage lagoons can sufficiently clean Nunavut’s limited quantities of water and gray water.
Nunatsiaqonline said in their article that the key is for the Government of Nunavut to draft design standards to ensure the patchwork of systems across the territory are all working properly and Jamieson’s study will likely help Nunavut do that.
The study was funded through the federal gas tax system and is the first long-term comprehensive examination of wastewater treatment in the Canadian Arctic.
In April, the team provided a report that discussed community engagement and potential design guidelines for tundra wetland treatment areas. Other researchers plan to test these guidelines during their first field season this summer.
