The Nunavut government declared a state of emergency on October 14, a day before test results confirmed "the presence of elevated hydrocarbons" in Iqaluit's water treatment plant.

It has not explained the cause of the contamination and said tests were continuing.

The city has started flushing water lines but warned residents yesterday they might continue to smell fuel in their water for the rest of the week.

As a way of providing support to the community, Agnico said it was shipping about 15,000L of potable water by cargo flight on October 15.

The government of Nunavut shipped about 89,000L the same day and the City of Iqaluit said a further 42,000L would arrive this week.

Agnico said it was "committed to helping communities surrounding our operations during their times of need".

The Canada-based company has two gold mines in the remote territory, the Meadowbank complex and Meliadine.