Halifax Water is planning on implementing mandatory water restrictions in the coming days because recent rainfall in the province still hasn’t been enough to raise levels in the reservoirs.
Brittany Smith, a spokesperson for the utility, says the Pockwock and Lake Major reservoirs are almost a metre below normal levels after months of dry weather.
“We haven’t really seen a whole lot of rain since then, and then we’re also not seeing any demand on the system drop,” she said.
Details about the restrictions and possible consequences should be announced within the next few days, she says.
Overnight Sunday into Monday morning was particularly rainy in some regions, but Smith says the precipitation is only delaying the inventible by a couple of days or weeks.
“The team is looking today to evaluate the rain that came on the weekend and to kind of see where we’re going, but (mandatory restrictions will) be in the coming days,” she said.
Halifax Water implemented voluntary water conservation restrictions on Aug. 5 and asked people to limit indoor use, as well as to avoid washing cars and watering lawns.
Coun. Patty Cuttell, who sits on the Halifax Water Board of Commissioners, says despite the restrictions, there hasn’t been a noticeable change in water habits among residents in the municipality.
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“Consumption is actually going up, even though we have these (…) voluntary restrictions in place, so you know, at the end of the day, the problem is that people haven’t really been taking this seriously,” she said.
Ian Hubbard, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, notes that many parts of the province set records for low rainfall amounts this summer, with a large number reporting between 40 and 75 per cent of normal precipitation.
“It’s definitely been a very unique situation this year, and certainly many areas have experienced these very dry conditions, and really not many people were spared from it across the Maritimes,” he said.
Hubbard adds that significant rain isn’t expected in the long-range forecast — which is what the utility needs at the moment.
“We’re seeing some rain, but it’s simply not enough,” said Smith.
“We need a significant amount of rain over several days, not just your 10 millimetres here and there.”
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