There are many sites one could use to wash their vehicle in Rankin Inlet, but Nipisar Lake is definitely not one of them.
However, after having just such an incident reported last week, the hamlet quickly put out an advisory reminding the public that such activities are absolutely not allowed near the lake.
"People need to be aware of the fact that's our municipal water supply and it should not be treated in any way that endangers the community's water supply," said senior administrative officer (SAO) Darren Flynn.
"This is the first time during my time as SAO here that such a complaint has ever been brought to me.
"There's any number of things, I guess, could be done in this situation. I haven't got it right in front of me right now, but, obviously, you're dealing with a public water supply, so there's strict regulations that cover that. I can't quote it for you right now, but any kind of activity that releases a contaminant into a water source is not permitted anywhere."
Flynn said he's not going to speculate or pass judgment on the person's actions. The matter has been dealt with and, hopefully, that's the end of it, he said.
"All I know is I had a complaint that somebody was washing their vehicle there and we put up a notice to inform the public that washing vehicles in Nipisar Lake or any of its run-off water bodies is not a permitted activity.
"Somebody decided it was a good idea to wash their vehicle and, thankfully, somebody reported it. The people in Rankin report things like that. They don't want to see anything happen that's going to cause any issues for our water supply.
"One would hope that the system treats it well enough, but, that being said, you shouldn't have any kind of activity like that going on in a watershed.
"There is, however, nothing out there in the form of signage and that's something that we have to address."
