Boil-water advisory lifted for Halifax-area communities

Halifax Water has responded to criticism levelled by Premier Tim Houston who called the boil-water order "an embarrassment" that the utility should be ashamed of.

Houston made the comments in an interview with CTV News on Wednesday night.

"This is an awful situation, a complete embarrassment," Houston said. "Shame on Halifax Water."

In an emailed response to CBC News, Halifax Water spokesperson Brittany Smith wrote, "We understand Premier Houston shares the frustrations that most of our customers have expressed with the boil-water advisory over the past few days."

"We appreciate that this has had a significant impact on people's lives, and they have a right to be upset," the statement said.

Houston declined an interview request from CBC.

Advisory lifted Thursday morning

The boil-water advisory, which lasted more than two days and impacted 200,000 customers in the Halifax area, was lifted Thursday morning.

The advisory affected people in Beaver Bank, Middle and Lower Sackville, Upper Hammonds Plains, Bedford, Fall River, Windsor Junction, Halifax, Timberlea, Spryfield, Waverley and Herring Cove.

In a news release Thursday morning, Halifax Water said residents in those communities could resume consuming their tap water after following a few steps.

The utility said fridges or other appliances that store water should be flushed for 10 minutes, and ice made by an ice maker or in an ice cube tray during the boil-water advisory should be discarded.

Halifax Water says there was a power interruption at the JD Kline (Pockwock) Lake Water Treatment Facility on Monday evening that caused an electrical issue inside the plant. (Brian MacKay/CBC)

Halifax Water said it had been continuously monitoring the system and completed the sampling required by the provincial Environment Department and the medical officer of health.

The advisory was put in place early Tuesday morning following a planned power outage by Nova Scotia Power that caused an electrical issue at the Pockwock Lake Drinking Water Treatment Facility.

Water continued to be treated, but lacked chlorine disinfection for approximately 30 minutes. The interruption allowed a limited amount of unchlorinated water to enter the system.

Last July, an electrical issue at the same treatment facility prompted a two-day boil-water advisory for the same customers.

This week's advisory forced businesses and health-care facilities to pivot for the second time in seven months. Some food establishments were closed or offering reduced menus.

Nova Scotia Health said 220 non-urgent procedures had to be rescheduled. The procedures included surgeries and endoscopies at the QEII Health Sciences Centre and other affected health facilities.

Houston suggested in his interview with CTV News that the province could bill Halifax Water to cover the "incredible costs from these cancellations."

Smith noted if those costs were to be passed along, ratepayers would ultimately be on the hook to pay the bill.

"All costs that the utility is required to pay, whether budgeted or unbudgeted, must be recovered from ratepayers," said Smith.

Halifax Water said the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has requested an investigation report to be filed by Feb. 4.

WATCH| How businesses and health-care facilities managed the boil-water advisory:

The report will include a review of what happened and recommendations to make sure it doesn't occur again. It will be shared with the province, the Halifax Water Board of Commissioners and Halifax regional council.

Smith said no other details will be shared about the incident until the report is submitted.

"This report, which will be publicly available, will provide insight into many of the questions raised, including what happened and how it will be prevented in the future," said Smith in an emailed statement.

"Halifax Water wants to apologize for this significant event and its impact on people's lives. Once again, we want to thank our customers for their patience, and we are committed to improving our services in the future."

MORE TOP STORIES