Water scarcity in Nunavut prompted the territorial government to declare a state of emergency, leading experts to reassess the water infrastructure in areas they say lack necessary funding.

Deputy Lori Idlout told CTV News: "Families are frustrated, water is a basic human right."

Iqaluit, which reported a water shortage last week, is now working to obtain regulatory approval to pump water from a nearby lake.

Meanwhile, Joanna Kwassa, Acting Minister of Community and Government Services in Nunavut, said in a statement on Friday that the federal government is committed to working with the city of Iqaluit to ensure that water levels will meet the needs of Iqaluit residents during the upcoming winter."

Researchers who assessed the cascading effects of water scarcity announced that the federal government is effectively responding to the shortage with the necessary investments, with researcher Kailia Little telling CTV News on Sunday: "Not having enough water for an entire city, not just any city but the capital of the territory, will have a wide-ranging impact on the whole region."

Only limited research has been conducted for the Arctic Institute regarding the water crisis in Iqaluit - with a particular focus on how water shortages are linked to infrastructure in the Arctic.

Little said this is the second time in about nine months that Iqaluit has experienced a water crisis, and that if the same situation happened in another capital "we would talk about it more and see faster investments," adding: "We have to remember this is part of Canada, and we need to make the same investments we make in places like Ontario and Britain and bring them to the North."