The Canadian city Iqaluit is forced to replace major parts of the city’s infrastructure for water and sewage systems due to climate changes, according to Nunatsiaq News.

Parts of the city’s pipe infrastructure dates back to the 1960s. As the active layer of the permafrost, i.e. the layer of the soil that thaws in summer and freezes in winter, is deepening, the existing water and sewage pipes – which were held in place by permafrost – break or disconnect with the moving soil.

A replacement is estimated to amount to somewhere in the range of CAD 200-250 million, depending on the extent of the replacements. The city’s authorities are now asking the Canadian government for help.