Halifax Water asks customers served by Lake Major to conserve water

Halifax Water is asking residents and businesses supplied by the Lake Major Water Supply Plant to begin following voluntary water conservation measures.

The utility says Lake Major’s water levels are lower than normal as a result of a “prolonged period of low precipitation.”

“The lake levels are dependent on annual precipitation inclusive of snow and rain. Seasonal patterns see the lake levels start dropping in summer, but it normally replenishes through the fall,” said Halifax Water in an email to CTV News.

The communities of Dartmouth, Burnside, Cole Harbour, Westphal, North Preston and Eastern Passage are served by the Lake Major water supply and, according to Halifax Water, approximately 118,000 people are affected.

The utility is providing a list of guidelines on ways to conserve water, including:

• Cut back on the frequency and length of showers.
• Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face, etc.
• Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.
• “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.” Depending on the efficiency of your toilet, each flush uses between 6 to 26 litres of water.

“These voluntary water conservation measures are being implemented to maintain essential water service for all customers in the Lake Major service area,” says Halifax Water in a news release.

“These voluntary actions will help reduce demand until the rainfall can replenish the lake and remove the need for an engineered solution.”

Similar advisories were sent out in the fall of 2016 and 2019 and Halifax water says the conservation period lasted for about a month each time.

Halifax Water says a team is designing a new intake system for Lake Major, as the current design “does not account for significantly lower water levels.”

“Once it has been designed and has a cost estimate, the next step is to seek regulatory approval from the NSUARB and NSECC to complete the work. We expect the work at Lake Major will be completed in 2029,” said Halifax Water in an email to CTV News.

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