Qikiqtalik Lake in Nunavut’s capital city of Iqaluit represents the community’s best option for a reliable freshwater supply that will meet the community’s rapidly growing water demands. The lake has already been used once as a source for emergency resupply to Iqaluit’s municipal surface water reservoir and is now being seriously considered for its potential as a longer-term supply. This is a relatively large and deep lake for the area, thus drawing attention as a promising future water source for the community, yet little is known about the renewable fraction of water that it offers. This issue has been compounded by a virtually ungaugeable lake outflow, a problem that can only be solved through installation of a massive weir with major financial investment and significant delays due to water licensing requirements. Fortunately, we have collected some preliminary information on the major water balance terms of Qikiqtalik Lake, from spring 2022 to fall 2023. This presentation will highlight results from terrestrial and open-water eddy covariance measurements, precipitation inputs including end-of-winter snow water equivalent estimates available for recharge, and outflow discharge pieced together by gauging multiple downstream locations. These observations represent the first available estimates of the renewable freshwater supply in Qikiqtalik Lake to help answer the question: Will there be enough water for the City of Iqaluit?
1125 Colonel By Dr
Ottawa ON K1S 5B6
Canada