City of Yellowknife making plan, setting priorities to address aging water infrastructure
CBC
Engineering consultants working for the City of Yellowknife have identified three priority projects to improve the city’s water system: upgrades at pumphouse three and four and an additional reservoir storage facility for potable water at pumphouse four.
In a presentation to the city, the consultants estimated the cost to do that work at $33.5 million.
The city hopes to fund the projects with money from the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund (CHIF).
If successful, 75 per cent would be funded federally and 25 per cent would be funded by the city.
“We got ahead of the curve a little bit just to take advantage of this funding opportunity,” the city's director of public works and engineering Chris Greencorn said of the work of prioritizing projects.
The Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund has been accepting new applications, and the city asked engineers to identify the top three priorities out of its soon-to-be completed water master plan.
Greencorn said the city would apply for the funds through the territorial Department of Municipal and Community Affairs for a territorial portion of the funding.
Yellowknife city administration has nearly completed the water master plan that will provide a clear picture of the drinking water system in the city and its most pressing issues.
In 2019, the city secured $25.8 million in federal funding through the government's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund for upgrades, including replacing an 8.4-kilometre pipeline on the Yellowknife River.
That plan shifted in 2025, and the money was instead put toward replacing pumphouse one, which was deemed to be in a “state of failure,” and toward work on pumphouse two.
Greencorn said that work is underway now.
“It's been a little slow because of elections and things like that, but we finally got an amendment to our contribution agreement. We are ramping up the detailed design,” he said.
He added that design and regulatory work is expected to occur over the next 12 to 18 months and that construction is still a couple of years out.
When it comes to overall water infrastructure in the city, Greencorn said Yellowknife isn’t the only municipality prioritizing the most pressing infrastructure repairs while balancing budgets.
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