Heavy rain in parts of the Maritimes overnight provided much needed moisture for crops, but for beach lovers, there is a downside. Two very popular beaches in Halifax will be closed until at least Friday.
Both the Dingle on the Northwest Arm and the Black Rock Beach at Point Pleasant Park were closed automatically Wednesday morning, after heavy rain in the previous 24 hours. When the water gets too heavy, parts of the city have combined sanitary and storm sewers.
"The system keeps operating, but it's at full capacity, so it keeps operating, and then those combined sewer overflow chambers kick into gear and they screen the material and then discharge it into the harbour," says James Campbell of the Halifax Water Commission.
The overflow is only partly treated and that means a lot of coliform bacteria can end up in the water.
"We are going to test 24 hours after the rainfall, on effectively, Thursday morning. We test for E. coli and we expect that the results will be back Friday afternoon," says Campbell.
If the first results of the test are clear of E. coli, then the beaches could be open on Friday afternoon. If the levels are high, the beaches could be closed all weekend.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ron Shaw
