Water Supplies in the Central and Western Canadian North

Construction on Permafrost

“…Much of the surface water occurs in shallow ponds and lakes that freeze to the bottom in winter and in a few large turbid rivers. Groundwater is often unsatisfactory in quality and difficult to obtain, although several such supplies are in use and kept flowing by electric heating or continuous flow (Grainge 1959).…”

“…This resulted in substantial savings in capital and operating costs (Grainge 1959). The water supply for Inuvik is stored in a small upland lake by pumping it from the Mackenzie river during periods of low turbidity.…”

“…The high water temperature is required because the mean annual ground temperature is only about 20 O F (-6.7 "C). Another inexpensive method is to lay the pipe on the ground surface and cover it with moss (Grainge 1959).…”