‘This is a serious situation’: 50 CBRM properties, two horse stables reporting dry wells

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Drought dries up wells in Cape Breton

CBRM mayor says wells are going dry

Along with the ongoing wildfires, well water levels are also a big concern for Maritimers.

Like Halifax, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) is under a voluntary water conservation advisory.

Mayor Cecil Clarke says the municipality is very concerned about its water deficit and 50 properties have reported dry wells so far.

“Conservation is paramount, because for us to stabilize and provide bulk supply of potable water it has to come from the main system. So while our reserve levels in our three areas that we have water supply within the CBRM are stable at this time, conservation is essential for us to respond and provide supports as needed,” he told CTV Atlantic’s Amanda Debison.

June Dunn says the water level in the well at her property along the Mira River is constantly getting lower.

“We checked it this Saturday, and it went down a foot-and-a-half from last Saturday and then today it’s probably down another six inches,” she said.

Dunn said she and her partner Leo MacLeod are taking quick showers every other day, not watering their plants, doing dishes less often than usual and making a roughly hour-long round trip into Sydney to do laundry.

“It’s horrible,” she said. “It’s horrible because you open the tap and next thing you know it’s like, ‘Oh, darn, I can’t be running this.’

“Nothing else we can do but wait it out, and this too shall pass, I hope.”

The municipality has procured 4,000 four-liter bottles and Labatt Breweries have provided 5,200 cans of drinking water to give to residents.

“But with the wells going dry, we’ve had two stables representing 65 horses without water supplies and our officials are looking at how to get bulk, potable water through other distribution means, but also working with our citizens. We have citizens needing access to hygiene, we have shower facilities opening up.. so this is not just ‘it’s dry,’ it really impacts on many levels,” Clarke said.

The mayor also stressed that residents with dry wells should call 311 so staff can triage them.

“We want to make sure if it’s a senior that doesn’t have ready access to getting to a grocery store, we’re looking at ways that we can support and anyone vulnerable is not left behind,” he said.

“But most importantly, we all know the importance of water to our wellness and wellbeing, and so no situation is taken less than another, but some are more urgent, and as a result of that 311 will help ensure that anybody with a water supply issue has it addressed, it’s taken very seriously and we find the right support system for them.”

Clarke said residents in general are seeing the request to conserve water as “common sense and courtesy.”

“People recognize that this is a serious situation until we can get back to some regular rain supply to get the system back up to a normal level. But we have a water deficit and at this time we continue to ask people to be mindful of water consumption, reduce it,” he said.

The voluntary water conservation advisory includes suggestions such as:

• taking shorter showers
• only running dishwashers and washing machines when they’re fully loaded
• avoiding watering lawns and washing vehicles
• not leaving taps running

Anyone can report a dry well by calling 311 or going to cbrm.ns.ca

-With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Ryan MacDonald

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