This is a joint project between Code for Canada and Small Change Fund.

Too many Inuit families still face uncertainty about the water in their homes

For many Inuit families, water doesn’t simply come from a tap. It is treated centrally, delivered by truck and stored in tanks outside people’s homes.

Harsh weather, aging infrastructure, limited staff and truck breakdowns can disrupt this complex system. In crowded households, limited water can force families to ration what they need for drinking, cooking, washing and basic hygiene. Communities also often lack information about how much water remains in household tanks, making it difficult to anticipate shortages.

Access to safe and sufficient water is a basic human right. Yet for too many Inuit families, reliable access cannot be taken for granted. We believe practical technology and timely information can help close that gap.

It started with Kiujik

Since 2023, Code for Canada has worked with the Kativik Regional Government, Northern Villages and local residents to improve trucked water and wastewater services in Nunavik.

Together, we co-developed Kiujik, a digital app designed around the realities of Northern communities. Residents can request service online or by phone, dispatchers can prioritize requests, and drivers can access routes and record completed stops, even with limited connectivity.

Kiujik has now handled over 200,000 service requests, including more than 15,000 urgent, unplanned requests. It gives communities critical data to improve services today and over time.

Civic tech can help fill the gaps where many systems fall short

Important public problems like reliable access to water don’t always fit neatly within a single government program, department or technology system. When systems are fragmented, people can fall through the gaps.

This project works to close the gap between the public services people need and the tools governments have to deliver them. Kiujik shows what’s possible when technology starts with people: practical digital infrastructure built around a real community need.

From responding to water shortages to preventing them

Now, we will be working with Dr. Stéphanie Guilherme and her research team at Université Laval to build on that foundation.

Her team is developing and testing affordable sensors that measure household tank levels. This project can help turn that information into something communities can use, co-designing digital tools and exploring how real-time data could connect with systems like Kiujik.

Together, these technologies could help operators identify households at risk, prioritize where water is needed and plan deliveries before supplies become critically low.

The goal is simple — move from reacting to water shortages to preventing them.

Help us build what comes next

Reliable water is fundamental to healthy, resilient communities. Your support can help Inuit communities, Northern governments, researchers and technologists build practical tools that make this right more reliable in everyday life.

This is the role civic tech can play — addressing needs that fall between the cracks while helping communities build the tools and capacity to meet them.

Support stronger water security across Northern Canada.