Emergency alert should have been used for boil-water advisory: Halifax mayor

A significant boil-water advisory affecting more than 200,000 people in the Halifax area has been lifted.

Halifax Water said in a statement Thursday morning test results confirm all drinking water samples have met the requirements established by Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change (NSECC).

The utility says customers serviced by the JD Kline (Pockwock) water treatment facility should dispose of ice made during the advisory and fridges or other appliances that store water should be flushed for 10 minutes. 

People living in Beaver Bank, Middle and Lower Sackville, Upper Hammonds Plains, Bedford, Fall River, Halifax, Timberlea, Spryfield and Herring Cove were under the two-day advisory.

“Halifax Water wants to thank all of its customers for their cooperation and patience over the past two days and apologize for any inconvenience,” the utility said.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has requested an investigation into the incident, which will review what happened and offer recommendations to avoid repeating it in the future.

Halifax Water said the results will be shared with Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change, the Halifax Water Board of Commissioners and Halifax Regional Council.

Mayor says emergency alert should have been used

Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore is also calling for a full investigation into the situation and wants the results to be made public.

Fillmore says he met with Halifax Water’s general manager, Kenda MacKenzie, on Wednesday to talk about the incident and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

“It’s very unfortunate to have that kind of negative impact on anyone, whether it was businesses or hospitals, and this is the reason we need a full investigation so that we can prevent it happening again,” Fillmore told CTV News during an interview Thursday.

Fillmore is also calling for Halifax Water to do more rigorous testing of the backup systems that failed and wants to establish a clear policy around when and how to use the emergency system alert.

The mayor believes the emergency alert system should have been used to warn affected Halifax Water customers about the advisory Tuesday morning.

“When there’s a matter of public health like this, I think notifying people the way that they were notified that morning, it was very spotty,” said Fillmore.

“We have that emergency alert system for a reason, and this province has learned the hard way that the best way to notify people of a public health emergency or something that they need to know about, is through the emergency alert system, and that’s why it was created.”

Halifax Water declined CTV Atlantic’s requests for an interview. The utility told CTV News in an emailed statement that the report will be made available to the public.

“As we continue to gather information about the incident, there are no other details to share until the report is submitted on February 4, 2025,” said spokesperson Brittany Smith.

‘Complete embarrassment’

Premier Tim Houston described the situation as a “complete embarrassment” during an interview with CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis Wednesday.

He also said he is looking into if the province can regain some of the financial losses from Halifax Water.

The utility called it a “significant event” in a statement Wednesday afternoon and apologized.

“The leadership and staff of Halifax Water understand the impact this is having on people’s lives and that our customers are frustrated. We are committed to taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our customers' drinking water,” it said.

Dozens of schools and businesses were impacted by the advisory. Nova Scotia Health also said it had a “significant impact” on its ability to deliver full services, with more than 200 medical procedures affected.

Monday night power outage

The boil-water advisory was first issued early Tuesday morning following a power interruption at the JD Kline (Pockwock) Lake Water Treatment Facility Monday night.

Halifax Water says the issue stemmed from a planned power outage in the Hammonds Plains area. During the outage, the backup system kicked in, but the facility experienced an electrical failure and a fuse was blown.

The utility says the blown fuse impacted the chlorination process, which meant unchlorinated water entered the water system for about 30 minutes.

Halifax Water said it wasn’t directly notified about the planned outage. Nova Scotia Power said it issued calls to customers in the area Monday and shared information on its social media channels about the planned outage in order to fix a piece of equipment in need of urgent repair ahead of the cold weather.

Business impact

Many stores got back to normal on Thursday after the boil water advisory was lifted. Cathy Hope, who owns the Lady Luck Boutique in Halifax, said the lack of drinkable water impacted business on Tuesday and Wednesday.

“It’s affected us in sort of an emotional sense, but it’s also affected us in a traffic sense,” Hope said. “We’re simply not getting the customers that we normally would’ve gotten this week.”

Alexander Stephen, co-owner of Apartment 3 Espresso Bar, said the public should be informed about what caused the boil advisory.

“We need to know what happened and come up with a solution,” he said.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Vanessa Wright.

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