Free water is now available at the Northern store, Qikiqtaq Co-op and Co-op Express in Gjoa Haven, Nunavut twice per day thanks to a contract with the Government of Nunavut’s Nunavut Emergency Management (NEM) agency.
The portable water dispenser in the Northern store started operating on April 15, while the Co-op locations began offering free water on April 17.
The hamlet had announced all three access points on March 2.
Explanations varied for why it took until mid-April to begin offering free water from the dispensers.
“The dispenser was brought online once a consistent water delivery arrangement was confirmed with the hamlet, and ongoing operation will continue to rely on regular water deliveries,” said Brigitte Burgoyne, director of communications at The North West Company.
Gjoa Haven is in the midst of a four-month long boil water advisory and and was under a state of emergency from April 9 until April 16.
On April 13, Gjoa Haven resident Jim Verch told Nunavut News he had to pay for water at the Northern store, despite the previously announced free dispenser.
NEM promised to look into the matter, and two days later the dispenser began operations.
“They called me to repair and replace the filter [in the water dispenser] that was leaking. I saw a huge lineup of people gathering water yesterday,” Verch said on April 16.
Northern already owned the dispenser and is donating the water while NEM is covering the costs of filters and other expenses related to operating the machine, according to Ryleigh McPherson, a communications official for NEM.
On April 17, the Hamlet of Gjoa Haven confirmed free water would also be available at the Co-op Express and the Qikiqtaq Co-op. An agreement was reached earlier that day between Co-op and NEM, which mirrors the cost recovery one with Northern, according to McPherson.
“The Co-op already had a water dispenser and then we brought a portable one for the Co-op Express, which was recently installed and tested,” she said. NEM and Co-op offered two different explanations on why the free water dispenser wasn’t available before April 17.
“The Co-op hasn’t been getting back to NEM regarding the agreement to allow free water filling for residents,” McPherson said.
At the end of March, the McPherson said the GN donated a portable dispenser to the Co-op Express and it was quickly set up.
But testing the water caused delays in getting the device operational.
Tests were completed during the week of April 13 and results came back normal, according to McPherson.
Qikiqtaq Co-op in Gjoa Haven had a different version of events.
According to a store representative, the owners offered NEM space to install a portable water dispenser at the Co-op Express store for uptown residents.
“We are at this point waiting for an agreement with NEM to extend that offer using Coop’s own water system located at the main store for downtown residents,” said Moussa Ndiaye, general manager of Qikiqtaq Co-op.
Ndiaye said on April 17 that he was hopeful Co-op would work out an agreement with NEM in the coming days.
The agreement was finalized.
Arctic Co-ops’ head office said they received no direct communication from the GN.
By William Koblensky Varela, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Apr 17, 2026 at 16:11
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