While people in Cape Breton are bracing for this weekend’s heavy rainfall, those living in south western Nova Scotia are welcoming it.
A record dry summer emptied wells, forcing families to wash clothes at laundromats, shower in community centres and line up for bottled water.
Some residents say their water levels are slowly returning to normal along the south shore.
“We are supposed to get a lot more rain and I hope we do,” says Liverpool resident Jerry Himmelmen.
Himmelmen says he can finally drink water from his well after it dried up, though the water in his well, and many others, is still low.
“It was very tough. We had very little water and used it sparingly,” says Himmelmen.
Residents have been hoping for a few days of steady rain since July, though there is concern that if too much rain falls too quickly this weekend it could cause some flooding.
“We are cleaning the leaves away from the catch basin so the water doesn't flood the streets,” says Dalton Freeman with the Region of Queens Municipality.
“With the rain coming we hope the flooding doesn't create a problem, but we do hope it provides enough water to recharge a large number of the wells in our community,” says Region of Queens Municipality CAO Richard MacLellan.
Until the ground is saturated again, people will continue to get water from town wells and fire halls like they've done all summer.
Queens County Search and Rescue volunteers have been handing out drinking water every night to those who still don't have any.
“We come here in the evenings for two or three hours and distribute it out,” says Gerald Wald of Queens County Search and Rescue.
There is also concern that if not enough rain falls before the ground freezes, people will be without water until the spring.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelland Sundahl
