Waverly Road watermain repaired, boil advisory remains in effect

A boil water advisory remains in effect for thousands of people living in the Dartmouth, N.S., area.

Halifax Water crews have repaired a broken watermain on the Waverley Road and the system is being returned to service, said a news release Sunday evening.

Customers in the impacted area should see pressure return to normal Sunday but are advised to continue boiling their drinking water as a precaution until further notice because of the prolonged loss of pressure. The advisory is issued in accordance with requirements from Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC).

Halifax Water said it will continue to monitor water quality and communicate with NSECC and the Medical Officer of health. They said the precautionary advisory is in place for customers impacted by the watermain break that occurred Saturday. Approximately 2,000 customers are under the advisory.

The impacted customers include those living in the areas of:

• Waverley Road
• Spider Lake
• Montague Road
• Keystone Village
• Port Wallace
• Montebello
• Craigwood Estates
• Avenue du Portage

No water

Overnight, Halifax Water said crews were able to isolate the pipe break and limit the number of locations without water to approximately 75.

Ann-Marie Flinn was one of the people without water.

“We just live down the street, so we don’t have water right now, but we know a lot of other people who have water now so they’re hoping in about an hour or so we’ll have our water turned on,” she told CTV News around 11 a.m. Sunday. At that point, she said her family had been without water since about 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

“It was a bit of a surprise, you know, stuff happens,” said Flinn.“We live on a lake, so we’ve been just getting some water up from the lake and doing what people used to do many, many years ago, so it’s a little humbling, that’s for sure. It makes you realize how much we appreciate having water in our house.”

Boil before using

For those with water who are under the advisory, the utility said water should be boiled for at least one minute before being used for:

• drinking
• preparing infant formula
• making ice cubes or juices
• washing fruits or vegetables
• cooking
• brushing teeth
• any other activity requiring human consumption

Once water is restored to the area, Halifax Water said customers should run their water until it is clear if it is discoloured.

The boil water notice will be in effect until further notice.

Comfort centre

Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) opened a comfort centre for those impacted by the watermain break from 2:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday at the East Dartmouth Community Centre at 50 Caledonia Road to assist any residents who have not yet had their water restored.

HRM said it is unclear if the comfort centre will be needed on Monday.

Washroom and shower facilities are also available at:

• Cole Harbour Place, 51 Forest Hills Parkway, Dartmouth, from 12 to 9 p.m.
• Zatzman Sportsplex, 110 Wyse Road, Dartmouth, from 12 to 10 p.m.

There are no confirmed impacts to programming or bookings at any parks and recreation facilities in the area.

There were no significant impacts to Halifax Transit services.

-With files from CTV’s Callum Smith

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