YELLOWKNIFE (August 28, 2025) – The Chief Public Health Officer is advising residents that the North Slave and South Slave regions are experiencing fluctuating air quality, with very high-risk readings in some areas due to changing winds and weather patterns.

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (July 21, 2025) –The Chief Public Health Officer advises the public that two new substances of concern have been detected in in Yellowknife’s wastewater (See Wastewater Monitoring in Yellowknife, below) – isotonitazene and xylazine. The substances were identified in the most recent National Wastewater Drug Surveillance (NWDS) report for the Yellowknife site, which used data from May 2025.

TSIIGEHTCHIC (June 27, 2025) - The Chief Environmental Health Officer is advising all residents in the community of Tsiigehtchic that the precautionary Boil Water Advisory has been lifted.

Residents who receive their water from the Community Government of Tsiigehtchic were asked to boil their water due to higher than normal turbidity (muddy water).

There have been no illnesses associated with drinking water reported in the community.

Tsiigehtchic (June 12, 2025) - The Chief Environmental Health Officer is advising all residents in Tsiigehtchic to boil their drinking water for at least one minute.

This advisory is precautionary in nature and is due to higher-than-normal turbidity (muddy water) in the water. There have been no illnesses associated with drinking water reported in the community. 

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES (May 7, 2025) – The Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) is warning residents about the recent detection of a new and potentially dangerous drug combination in the Northwest Territories. Following a wellbeing check on a vehicle between Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells in mid-March, drug seizures tested positive for fentanyl, crack cocaine, and methamphetamine.