The town of Dawson has received an $11,000 bill from the Eldorado Hotel.
And the hefty tab has nothing to do with excessive use of room service or the minibar.
The town is responsible for water damage at the hotel, according to owner and former Yukon Party MLA Peter Jenkins.
This is because council is not doing enough to address the amount of carbon dioxide in the town’s water supply, which could be corroding the hotel’s pipes and valves.
Whether or not the town of Dawson will honour the bill will have to be decided by council, Mayor John Steins said on Thursday.
“In response to his concerns we did conduct a survey, which showed that everything was within the acceptable limits and the drinking water is of the highest quality.”
There is carbon dioxide in the water supply, as there is in any jurisdiction that uses well water, said Steins.
And over long periods of time, this can cause erosion.
“But there haven’t been very many complaints about the water,” he said.
“And everything that was found during the first study was well within the acceptable limits.
“Actually, we probably have the best drinking water in all of Canada.”
Dawson town council is planning to initiate a second, larger study to obtain another opinion on the state of its water.
However, the water damage that Jenkins expects the town to pay for wasn’t even caused by carbon dioxide, said Steins.
It was caused by condensation.
“We pipe the water out at a certain temperature and when it enters a heated room the water coming in from the supply line often times produces condensation,” he said.
“And in extreme cases the condensation will not evaporate and in time begin to drip. Over a period of time that could cause damage and rot in their building.
“But it’s my opinion that people should be responsible with insulating their own pipes.”
Jenkins could not be reached for comment, despite messages left at his home and the Eldorado Hotel.