Water Issue Disrupts Operations Amid Ongoing Halifax Water Boil Advisory
The advisory followed an internal electrical issue at a water treatment facility serving 201,000 people in Halifax, Bedford, Spryfield, Timberlea, Hammonds Plains, Beaver Bank, Middle and Lower Sackville, Windsor Junction, Herring Cove, and parts of Fall River.
“Taking water out of the equation really messes things up in a lot of ways that you don’t really realize,” said Charlotte Ashley, owner of Trident Booksellers & Cafe.
Trident, located on Hollis Street in Halifax, was closed on Tuesday due to the boil advisory. Ashley mentioned that coffee is a major seller at the cafe, but they can’t make hot drinks because their espresso machine is directly connected to the water source.
“We can’t put boiled water into the machine, which also has the foaming wand, so we can’t foam milk, heat up tea, or make hot chocolate. Water comes out of the foaming wand, so we’d be contaminating anything we make.”
Ashley estimated that not having water costs her business about $1,000 a day.
Halifax Water recommends boiling water for at least one minute before consuming it or using it for food preparation. Filtering water is not sufficient, and water should be boiled in the following circumstances:
- Drinking
- Preparing infant formula
- Making ice cubes or juices
- Washing fruits or vegetables
- Cooking
- Brushing teeth
- Any other activity requiring human consumption
The “precautionary” advisory is meant to prevent adverse health effects from drinking unchlorinated water, explained Nova Scotia regional medical officer of health, Dr. Monika Dutt. She added that immunocompromised individuals and infants using formula are most at risk.
Neither the Environment Department nor the city’s utility found traces of viruses or bacteria in the water, Dutt stated. “No actual tests have shown that currently there is a risk to the public; however, as a precaution, they put the advisory in place.”
Issued Monday evening, the advisory led to the closure of some child-care centers on Tuesday.
Several Tim Hortons locations were also closed Tuesday morning. The Bedford coffee shop at Mill Cove reopened at noon but only served hot drinks, not cold or iced drinks.
Hospitals, including both QEII Health Sciences Centre campuses and the Cobequid Community Health Centre in Lower Sackville, were using waterless bath products to clean patients and urged anyone with open skin wounds to avoid showers. Nova Scotia Health spokesperson Brendan Elliott mentioned that “a couple of dozen” endoscopy procedures were canceled.
Customers were seen lining up outside Sobeys on Mumford Road early Tuesday morning. Later in the day, the shelves were cleared of bottled water.
