Warming-Induced Heavy Metal Leaks Leave Norwegian City Without Drinkable Tap Water

SBS, the Korean broadcaster, reported, citing The Guardian, that thawing permafrost is releasing heavy metals into the water source of Longyearbyen, the largest settlement in Svalbard. The town draws most of its drinking water from a closed basin 2.5 km long, called the Ice Pond. Warming has exposed fresh bedrock, and metals are entering the water from it.

Marzolene Vicar, associate professor of arctic geology and a permafrost expert at UNIS (the University Centre in Svalbard), said the cause is thaw combined with shale bedrock that contains pyrite. She said pyrite becomes acidic after meeting water and oxygen, and the acid dissolves metals out of the rock. Manganese is the problem now, she said, but other pollutants can also be released. She added that similar bedrock and thaw exist elsewhere in the Arctic, so fresh water in northern Canada or Alaska could be affected.

Longyearbyen lies 1,287 km from the North Pole. SBS said the town is warming 5 to 7 times faster than the global rate, with autumn temperatures climbing by up to 4 C per decade.

Longyearbyen lokalstyre (the local council) first told the 2,600 residents in September of the previous year. Manganese was then measured at 25 times the threshold of 50 micrograms per litre set by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Mayor Terje Aunvik said the water had long been poor because of sediment, but manganese had risen explosively. SBS said long exposure to high manganese can cause neurological problems in infants and children. The authorities provided purified water from a local brewery in a central tank.

Manganese later fell. The tap water restriction stayed, because sulfate and nickel were found above recommended levels early in the year of the report. Aunvik, who ordered the investigation, said the supply system may need rebuilding. Two options are under review: a filter at the Ice Pond with a desalination plant in reserve, or a desalination plant as the main source. He said both would be costly and technically hard. He also said other small communities should consider preventive steps.

Coverage: SBS News