Halifax monitors water levels as wells dry up

Halifax homeowners are keeping an eye on the water levels at their wells amid dry weather.

Water levels across the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) are dropping. Little precipitation has led to a lot of dry wells in the area.

“June, July is a busy time of year,” says Kevin Obritsch who owns a bulk water delivery company. He and his 15,000-litre delivery truck have been going almost non-stop, making deliveries across HRM to fill empty wells. He says it’s something he’s not used to seeing this early in the summer.

“It’s a little dryer. Not a big difference but it is dryer earlier this year,” Obritsch said. “It’s still July. They usually don’t see this until August.”

Residents using municipal water supply are still okay and officials with Halifax Water say the level in Lake Major is good but they’re keeping an eye on it.

“To date, lake levels continue to be within the normal range. Still, given the extended period of low precipitation without significant rainfall, we are trending towards the same lower levels as last year,” said a statement from the utility.

Last year Halifax Water asked nearly 120,000 people on the Lake Major supply to conserve water. They also shut down two bulk filling stations.

The station Obritsch is using in Burnside is open for now and with little rain in the forecast he is expecting it to be very busy in the coming days.

“I think it’s going to get worse, so I have to plan ahead.”

Halifax Water is watching levels across their systems. They said they will begin a broader education and communication campaign to raise awareness in coming weeks if the water drops too low. They say they are working on plans with the municipality to make sure residents get ample warning so conservation measures can be put in place before the water supply reaches critical low levels.

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