In many places, the water supply is ensured by means of water trucks. But Nukissiorfiit has no intention of continuing like this.
“Nukissiorfiit wishes to phase out water traffic”. This is what Nukissiorfiit wrote, among other things, in their latest annual report.
Many places in Greenland do not have direct access to water. This means that the water supply in many households is done using water trucks. Bringing water out by car is physically demanding for the driver and expensive for the company, says the technical director of the autonomously owned company.
– It is very expensive to drive with water. One thing is the cost, and the other is that it is a grueling job for the drivers who do it, says technical director of Nukissiorfiit, Filip Sivertsen, to Sermitsiaq.
Among other reasons, Nukissiorfiit has plans to change this in the future. But it cannot yet be answered how the changes will be implemented in terms of time.
Some cities are more ready than others
Stopping water delivery will not happen all at once at a fixed time. The different cities must first be assessed. The cities which are expected to be the first without water delivery are: Nuuk, Narsaq, Paamiut and Sisimiut.
– Because there are so few customers and because there are other options for obtaining water, says the technical director.
According to him, some houses around the country still receive water, even though there are direct running water pipes near the homes. That is, they are not connected to running water. Those who have that option will also be informed that the water supply will cease.
– In the places where we have established water mains, but where the consumers do not connect, we will not continue with running water. There are other options for connecting to the water supply. We will therefore announce that we will stop supplying water with tankers in these areas, says the director.
Nukissiorfiit delivered water 110,000 times in 2024. Nukissiorfiit does not deliver water in the settlements. Residents in the settlements have the option of collecting water at taps in the settlement.
Some cities will continue to receive water for a period of time
In some cities, such as Upernavik, it is difficult to supply the entire city with running water, says the director. This is due to the size of the city’s water system. He also says that consumption increases when running water becomes available.
– After all, there are places where there are no existing water mains. This also requires the municipality to be on board, says Filip Sivertsen.
He also says that water delivered by car is inferior in quality to direct water supply. Cleaning and maintenance of water tanks inside the houses is the users’ own responsibility. But Nukissiorfiit cleans their water delivery equipment, such as hoses and water pipes, explains the director.
Filip Sivertsen also explains that there are many water deliveries in North Greenland and in Ittoqqortoormiit.
