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Northern Water Quality Laboratory

Welcome to the Northern Water Quality Laboratory (NWQL) in Iqaluit, Nunavut

In 2011, Dalhousie University partnered with the Nunavut Research Institute and the Government of Nunavut to establish the Northern Water Quality Laboratory, the first water quality laboratory in Nunavut.  Equipment for this laboratory has been provided through contracts with both the Government of Nunavut and the Nunavut General Monitoring Plan. 

The laboratory has the capacity to do the following analyses:

• pH, Dissolved Oxygen, conductivity
• Carbonaceous Biochemical Oxygen Demand (CBOD)
• Solids Analysis - Suspended, Dissolved, Volatile, Fixed
• E. coli and total coliforms through Colilert processes
• Nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, total nitrogen, total phosphorus)
• Turbidity
• Free and Total Chlorine
• UV254

Lab highlights include:

• Fridges, freezers and incubators
• UV spectrophotometer
• Portable chemical oxygen demand analyzer (PeCOD from Mandel)
• Oven and Muffle Furnace
• Turbidimeter
• Centrifuges
• Benchtop Autoclave
• Dishwasher
• Class A2 Biological Safety Cabinet
• Reverse Osmosis water purification system and distillation unit
• Staging area for Northern field research
• Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (QPCR) coming soon!
• Loop Mediated Amplification (LAMP) for microbial analysis, coming soon!

In addition to sample analysis, CWRS staff use the NWQL to build local human resource capacity by providing water quality analysis training to Environmental technology Program students at the Nunavut Arctic College as part of their curriculum. 

Contact Information
Wendy Krkosek (wendyk@dal.ca)