sambaa ke Archives - Ecology North

Sambaa K’e Hazardous Waste Remediation

Ecology North, GNWT- ENR and the community of Sambaa K’e have been working together to remove hazardous waste from the landfill.

Source Water Sampling Revealed Hazardous Waste as a Primary Concern

In 2015, the community completed a draft source water protection plan that identified several potential water quality contaminant sources within the Trout Lake watershed, and a list of desired management actions to address the potential contaminant sources, including hazardous waste in the landfill.

Following the completion of the plan, our team started moving towards implementing priority action items in the plan. Although the concerns are diverse, water quality sampling is a clear priority. During 2015-2016 we focused our implementation efforts on doing water quality sampling near abandoned well and waste sites in the watershed.

Building on the results and capacity developed during the 2015-2016 sampling work, our team decided it was the best time to move towards addressing the actions in the source water plan related to hazardous waste in the community and associated concerns about water quality impacts.

Hazardous Waste Remediation, Phase 1

In 2016, Ecology North received funding from the World Wildlife Fund to continue our source water implementation work with the community of Trout Lake, specifically with respect to hazardous waste!

This project was aimed at addressing community concerns and questions about the potential impacts that hazardous waste materials in the community are having on surrounding water quality. Our team, which consisted of members from the Sambaa K’e Dene Band of Trout Lake and GNWT ENR, inventoried, consolidated and removed hazardous waste from the community landfill, while also collecting water samples in streams and wetlands surrounding the landfill before and after the clean up.

In addition to collecting valuable data and completing an important clean up initiative, this project was a great hands-on training opportunity for community members to learn more about hazardous waste management and water sampling.

Through this project we were able to provide a unique hazardous waste training opportunity. Ecology North invited other communities to send candidates for the documenting, organizing and the final removal of Trout Lake’s hazardous materials from the local landfill. We held two training opportunities, one in the summer for the documenting, and organizing of hazardous waste ready for removal during the winter road season.

Hazardous Waste Remediation, Phase 2

Our second session commenced in March 2017 for the loading and removal of the hazardous waste on the winter road. We’d like to thank, World Wildlife fund, ENR and the following individuals from their respective communities in the successful removal of hazardous waste form the community of Trout Lake;

Brian Ekotla
Audrey Landry
Michael Landry
Travis Kotchea
Victor Nande
Victor Jumbo

Trout Lake Water Quality Sampling 2015-2016

The 2015-2016 Trout Lake Water Quality Sampling Project emerged from the Source Water Protection Planning Project that Ecology North undertook in partnership with the Sambaa K’e Dene Band (SKDB) and Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) in 2014.

Following the completion of the plan in 2015, there were several calls for additional water quality sampling near abandoned well and waste sites in the watershed. As such, this project was developed as a first step towards implementing these calls for action. The purpose of the sampling project was to gain a better understanding of how abandoned well and waste sites may be impacting water quality in the Sambaa K’e watershed.

Sampling

The majority of sampling was done by SKDB members during the summer and fall of 2015. In total, nine samples were taken from five different sites identified as source water priorities by Sambaa K’e community members. Parameters test included pH, total BTEX (hydrocarbons), conductivity, major ions, total trade metals and total mercury. All of the results were compared to the Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life, which are developed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME).

Overall, the 2015 sampling results were positive. At all sites, arsenic, molybdenum, nickel, lead, selenium and zinc were below the CCME Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life. No hydrocarbons (oil and gas chemicals) were detected at these sites. There were some exceedances in cadmium, copper, iron, total mercury and silver, these sites were flagged for continued monitoring through future work.

Results Meeting

In early January 2016 Ecology North hosted a results meeting and open house in Sambaa K’e, nearly one fifth of the community attended this meeting. These results were well received and fostered substantial interest among community members for additional training and continued water sampling in the community. The insights gathered from this meeting and the sampling results collected during the project are being used to inform the development of a more formal source water protection implementation plan for Sambaa K’e. The plan will provide a more detailed list of actions, timelines and targets for source water protection activities, including our Hazardous Waste Clean Up Project.

Click below to open the sampling result summary:

2015 Water Quality Sampling Result Summary

Sambaa K’e Source Water Protection Planning

During the year of 2014-2015 Ecology North had the opportunity to work with the Sambaa K’e Dene Band (SKDB) of Trout Lake to develop the first source water protection plan in the NWT.

In response to growing concerns about their drinking water (i.e., climate change impacts, industrial development, and historic waste sites), Sambaa K’e opted to complete a community source water protection plan. The plan was completed through a collaborative partnership approach with Ecology North, SKDB and the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENR), who provided both financial and technical support to help make the plan happen.

Source water refers to raw water from aquifers, streams or lakes that is used to supply drinking water systems. The purpose of source water protection planning is to prevent contaminants from entering a drinking water source prior to treatment, and thus it is often considered the first essential step to ensuring safe drinking water. The need for community source water protection planning is well recognized in the NWT Water Stewardship Strategy and Action Plan, and in 2012 GNWT ENR began taking the important initial steps towards addressing this need. The department hosted two community source water protection workshops to help introduce the concept of source water protection and build community capacity with respect to the development of community source water protection plans. The workshops also led to the development of a NWT Source Water Assessment and Protection Guidance Document, which is intended to help interested communities engage in source water protection planning.

The source water protection plan for Sambaa K’e is partly based on the NWT Source Water Assessment and Protection Guidance Document. The project brought Sambaa K’e community members and Elders together with watershed interest groups, government staff, and community staff to identify potential source water threats and to determine appropriate management actions to address those threats. In total, 21 potential contaminant sources were identified and mapped in the source water plan. A series of management actions, including hazardous waste remediation, were also prioritized and recorded in the plan. These management actions provide ongoing direction for future source water implementation initiatives in the community of Sambaa K’e

Click below to read the report:

2015 Water Quality Sampling Result Summary

Community of Sambaa K’e Source Water Protection Plan

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