Halifax utility diverting millions of cubic metres of wastewater into harbour, basin

HALIFAX — Halifax’s water utility says it needs to divert millions of cubic metres of wastewater into the Halifax harbour and Bedford Basin as part of maintenance work in the coming weeks.

The Halifax and Dartmouth wastewater systems need “critical” maintenance work, including upgrades to their ultraviolet disinfection equipment, said a spokesperson for Halifax Water.

“Due to the nature of the maintenance, the wastewater needs to be diverted from the treatment plant to the overflow points” that lead into the Halifax harbour and Bedford Basin, Brittany Smith said in an interview Monday.

The closure of the Halifax facility will divert two million cubic metres of wastewater, and the Dartmouth facility closure will divert another four million cubic metres, Smith said.

Work on the Halifax facility began Monday and is expected to take five days, and maintenance on the Dartmouth treatment facility is scheduled to start April 28 and should take four weeks.

Smith said the utility is recommending people avoid swimming in the water during the maintenance period.

“We have planned to do this in the springtime when folks won’t be doing as much activity on the harbour, so our goal is to have all this completed before the big tourist season when people are more likely to be in and around the harbour,” she said.

While the maintenance work is underway, the utility is asking customers in much of downtown Halifax and the Fairview and Clayton Park neighbourhoods to reduce their water use.

“Please minimize use of running water, flushing toilets or doing laundry during this time,” Halifax Water said in a statement.

The Canadian Press