The City of Whitehorse’s problems with its water supply have grown with a letter from the Yukon government scolding the council for not taking action quickly enough.

In the letter obtained by the Star, dated Oct. 10, Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn states, “Our government is aware of a draft report to the City of Whitehorse that states Whitehorse’s seven drinking water wells are showing signs of groundwater influence and the Giardia parasite has been found in samples taken from the aquifer.”

The letter is addressed to Mayor Laura Cabott.

“You noted in an April 11 meeting of council your concerns about the extent to which city council appeared to be second-guessing expert recommendations based on technical information,” Mostyn writes.

“Despite these concerns, all members of city council except for yourself voted on April 11 to refer the decision back to administration due to the substantial estimated cost of the project.”

Mostyn goes on to write, “Now, six months later, there is growing evidence of issues with Whitehorse’s water systems.

“The city has $3 million set aside to address this issue starting the spring of 2022 .... this funding has not been spent because, as you noted, council is second-guessing the experts.

“As you well know, water treatment facilities and utilities are Whitehorse’s responsibility under the Yukon’s Municipal Act.

“We are concerned that council’s lack of support for investment in this area could mean a prolonged boil-water advisory for citizens of Whitehorse.”

In his letter, Mostyn makes it clear that he expects the city to fund the needed improvements and upgrades on its own, although the government has helped other municipalities with roughly similar projects.

“The Government of Yukon has funded upgrades to municipal projects in much smaller Yukon municipalities that lacked a significant tax bases, like that available to Whitehorse,” he writes.

“While we would expect that our largest municipality would be able to use its funding mechanisms to complete these kinds of municipal responsibilities, we have engineering experience and we are willing to provide technical assistance to help the city plan its new water-treatment facility.”

Two weeks ago, the subject came up for debate at a city committee meeting.

Upgrades to the Selkirk water treatment plant could cost between $40 million and $55 million.

A Canada Community-Building Fund transfer pay agreement is in place for $2 million to begin detailed design work on the upgrades.

City council members have two basic choices on the matter, a staff report suggests.

They can proceed with the initial design work, or the matter can be referred back to administration for future consideration.

The report suggests the “planned upgrades will provide both a reliable second source of drinking water supply and the ability to relieve volume stress on the aquifer.”

The higher cost estimate of $55 million includes heaters and a sedimentation basin that would allow the city to pull water from Schwatka Lake, the aquifer, or use a blend at any time of the year. The lake was once the city’s primary water source.

The $40-million cost estimate would still allow the city to pull water from Schwatka Lake.

However, it would be at a blended rate of 60/40 surface water/groundwater, with no ability for surface water withdrawal in the winter months.

Administration is recommending the city budget for the higher cost of $55 million until the design is far enough along to confirm the option that will provide the treatment and volumes required to support growth until 2040.

On Thursday, Oshea Jephson, a spokesperson for the city, provided the following statement – although the Star had asked to discuss Mostyn’s letter with the mayor.

“The city has received the letter from minister Mostyn. As presented to council, the city is moving ahead with planning work to build a secondary treatment system at the Selkirk Water Treatment Plant.

“This proactive measure will ensure the city continues to have access to a safe and reliable water supply. The city has identified funds in its budget to move ahead with the planning and design of this project, but the source of funding for construction has yet to be determined.”