After an exceptionally dry summer, wells have dried up along Nova Scotia’s south shore and some families have been without water for weeks.
Without significant rain forecast, some see the situation as critical.
At the LaHave River, rocks can be seen where there are usually rapids.
“We used to swim here and the water was strong, now it is barely a trickle,” says Catlin Lohnes, who used a drone to capture the water level.
At the Shelburne Fire Hall on Tuesday, there was a steady stream of people who got water because their wells have run dry.
“My granddaughter comes over and we can't bath her. My children lost their water so it is quite hard,” says resident Holly Belong.
People in nearby communities are washing clothes at the laundry mat and hauling water home almost every day.
“Rain would be good,” says Sandy Point resident Tanya Hopkins. “A good steady week of rain.”
A local provincial park is encouraging residents to use shower facilities.
“I think there is a stigma attached to this kind of thing, but once you do it once it feels good, especially with how long people have gone without well water,” says resident Chris Abbott.
The situation could turn critical if by winter, there hasn't been enough rainfall. After the ground freezes, any rain that falls will take longer to get down into wells.
“You really don't realize how much water you use until you don't have it,” says resident Velda Acker. “We are in a crisis.”
There will be emergency meeting Tuesday night in Shelburne to see if officials can get an accurate count on the number of wells that have gone dry and what to do next.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kelland Sundahl.
