The northern Canadian city of Iqaluit declared a state of emergency on Friday after the local Apex River dropped to its lowest level in four decades due to insufficient rainfall this year.

Iqaluit has warned that it may not have enough water to support its population of about 7,800 when the water freezes in winter unless the municipality secures additional water supplies, according to an official statement, Reuters and Agerpres reported.

The municipality said it is trying to obtain the necessary permits to extract more than allowed from the Apex River and use an additional water source.

Officials suggested using a lake located about 3.5 kilometers north of Iqaluit as a source of additional water. The same lake was used in 2019 to replenish the city’s water reserves.

A fifth of the fresh water reserves on Earth are in Canada

Although Canada has about a fifth of the fresh water supply on Earth, indigenous communities in various parts of the country have faced water shortages over time.

Iqaluit is the capital of the predominantly indigenous region of Nunavut, Canada’s northernmost territory, near Greenland.

Last year, it was in a state of emergency for about two months after fuel was found in the Arctic city’s water supply, making the water unsafe for consumption.

Pope Francis visited Iqaluit late last month as part of a six-day apostolic trip to Canada to apologize to indigenous communities for abuses in public schools run by the Catholic Church.