Whitehorse, YT – A new study from McGill University is raising concerns about how climate change could speed up the movement of pollutants through northern groundwater, including in Yukon, where most residents rely on it for drinking water. McGill earth sciences professor Jeffery McKenzie says thawing permafrost and wetter conditions can mobilize contaminants once thought to be locked in frozen ground. They’re facing more potential for groundwater to get to rivers and streams in the winter. McKenzie says that matters in Yukon, where about 97 per cent of residents depend on groundwater. “More than 50 per cent of contaminated sites are fuel-related.