Halifax mayor ‘shocked’ to learn about wastewater going into harbour

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore says he was surprised by the plan to dump sewage into the harbour.

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore says he was caught off guard by Halifax Water’s decision to temporarily dump millions of litres of wastewater in the harbour and Bedford Basin.

“I was shocked to learn about it,” says Fillmore.

To complete the installation of ultraviolet equipment used in treating wastewater, the system needs to be shut down. As a result, Halifax Water says up to five million cubic metres of untreated, but screened sewage will be pumped into the harbour and the basin.

Fillmore found out about the plan on the weekend through the media.

“I did not like hearing about it the way I heard about it, as you can imagine, so I’ll be asking for a different communications protocol,” Fillmore says. “The last thing I expected was that volume of untreated or any untreated sewage to be discharged into Halifax Harbour.”

“It brings back memories of the past that maybe aren’t so great about our harbour,” says Dennis Campbell, CEO of Ambassatours.

Campbell’s tour company is heavily dependant on the harbour, but he says if the work needs to be done, it’s better it’s happening now.

“We’re very, very happy that it’s happening this time of year and not happening in another two months from now,” he says.

The utility’s definition of wastewater includes substances such as human waste, food scraps, oils, soaps, and chemicals, which are all things Fillmore says should be kept out of the water. He has asked about what infrastructure upgrades are needed to avoid future wastewater dumps.

“I do have to believe that in 2025 there is an alternative to dumping untreated sewage into what is the greatest attractor of visitors in eastern Canada, our beautiful harbour,” he says.

“As currently designed, the system is unable to transfer, hold, or store effluent if a wastewater treatment plant must be bypassed. As a result, parts of the harbour will likely have higher levels of bacteria than normal,” says Halifax Water spokesperson Brittany Smith.

Halifax Water did get federal approval from the Department of Environment and Climate Change to discharge the wastewater into the harbour.

CTV News reached out to the department to ask about the decision to grant the approval but didn’t hear back by deadline.

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