Smaller pipes causing low water pressure for Halifax-area community

Sabrina Allison has lived in her Nova Scotia home for years and there’s one rule she follows every day: never run water in two places at once.

“It’s like there are 10 people using the water at the same time,” said Allison. “I can’t do two things at the same time. You need to wait until one [task] is actually completed and you have the water pressure back again.”

Whether it is flushing the toilet, doing laundry, or washing the dishes, Allison said the water pressure drops significantly if more than one tap is on at the same time.

After years of filing complaints with Halifax Water about the water pressure, she learned the reason at a community meeting on Monday: the pipes in Upper Hammonds Plains are six and eight inches, while their neighbouring communities pipes are 16 inches.

“What’s the difference between all the other communities [like] the ones further down the road on the Pockwock road?” she said.

She said Halifax Water has made trips to her home to test the water pressure.

“They went over to cousin’s house to see their water pressure and said it’s the same, so there isn’t a problem,” she said.

Halifax Water recommended Allison buy an apparatus and hire a plumber to connect it to the main line. “I’m not paying $1,500. I was expecting as much water pressure as they do in the City of Halifax or Sackville or wherever else the water is being provided. I was expecting the same amount of water,” she said.

Halifax Water said it’s not uncommon for homeowners in the city to pay for such equipment.

“For those special areas where there’s too high of an elevation land or too low of an elevation land, they may need to put something, a device in their homes, to achieve the pressure that they desire,” said Kenda Mackenzie, acting general manager at Halifax Water.

Sabrina Allison deals with low water pressure in her Nova Scotia home. (Source: Hafsa Arif/CTV News Atlantic)

A number of developments are taking place in Upper Hammonds Plains. The people living there expect the water pressure to continue to decrease as more people move in to the community, and it has caused some concerns for area councillor Pam Lovelace.

“With the 2,000-plus units that are being built as of right now in this community, we don’t know what the infrastructure needs will be in the future, but currently today we know that we don’t have the infrastructure,” said Lovelace.

Halifax Water confirmed there is a possibility of the new developments having an impact on residents in Upper Hammonds Plains.

“Each [development] is reviewed on its own or a master plan scenario, and we look at what that system is capable of achieving and should there be any upgrades that may be cost shared with the developer to ensure that there isn’t a significant impact and so each one’s reviewed as they come in. We have a process to review those communities,” said Mackenzie.

Lovelace said the municipality isn’t in a position to upgrade pipe services under the Halifax Regional Water Commission provincial regulations, and is managed solely by the water utility.

“If the water utility was to upsize, they would need to go to the utility board to okay an application to increase their costs and increase revenue to do that. The provincial regulation actually restricts the municipality from having direct impact on the infrastructure that’s already in place,” she said.

The utility said it would not get approved to replace existing infrastructure, but if it were to change the pipes along Upper Hammonds Plains, it can cost them millions of dollars.

“The way we’re mandated with our regulations and ability to fund certain projects, we look at where system operations to be advanced or improved upon. There’s certain things that we can spend money on if there’s operational efficiencies that need to be achieved,” said Mackenzie.

Halifax Water is assessing the Upper Hammonds Plains community’s pipes. Mackenzie said bigger pipes may not be an option.

“Putting in a 16-inch main isn’t always the right answer. There are a number of communities that have eight- or six-inch lines,” she said.

Lovelace said Halifax Water and the province need to resolve water accessibility in the area.

“Halifax Water is responsible to ensure equity in its delivery of services and its delivery of water. It’s not possible with a six-inch pipe. Halifax Water needs to go back to the drawing board and determine what is the best way to ensure that they do provide a quality service that meets the standards of today. Hopefully the provincial government will also step in to right this wrong,” she said. 

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