As of Tuesday, August 5, Halifax Water is asking customers, residents and businesses in the Halifax Regional Municipality to voluntarily conserve their water usage until further notice.
As of Wednesday, September 10, Halifax Water is implementing mandatory Stage 1 water restrictions for Lake Major effective immediately. This impacts water service for the communities of Dartmouth, Burnside, Cole Harbour, Westphal, North Preston and Eastern Passage. For more information on the mandatory restrictions click HERE.
As of Wednesday, September 10, Halifax Water customers serviced by Pockwock Lake remain under voluntary conservation measures.
Map of Pockwock Water Supply Area impacted area:
To confirm if you are impacted, please visit Where Does My Water Come From?
| Outdoor Water Conservation Restrictions |
Voluntary Restrictions |
|---|---|
| Water use for splash pads/water play parks |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Bulk fill stations |
✓ (Use as Normal) |
| Watering golf courses |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Filling fountains and other decorative features |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Sprinkler & irrigation systems with an automatic shut off |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Watering lawns, gardens, trees,shrubs |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Watering vegetable gardens |
✓ (Use as Normal) |
| Washing outdoor building surfaces and windows |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Washing cars and boats (residential only) |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Washing sidewalks, driveways, or walkways |
✓ (Limit Use) |
| Filling outdoor pools, hot tubs, and wading pools |
✓ (Limit Use) |
Reducing water consumption and saving water has never been easier. Any number of the tips below can get you started on saving water inside and outside your home:
Conservation Inside Your Home
- Install low flow shower heads and appliances.
- Install a dual flush toilet.
- Regularly check for and repair any leaks.
- Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.
- Take shorter showers by reducing your current shower time by a couple of minutes.
- Turning off the water while brushing your teeth.
- Fill the sink with water when shaving rather than allowing the water to run.
- Take frozen food out of the freezer early to allow time to thaw without running under water.
Conservation Outside
- Reduce or stop lawn, garden, plant watering or other outside water usage.
Watering fruit and vegetable gardens is permitted during restrictions; however we encourage customers to be mindful of water usage. - Reduce or stop car/RV or other vehicle washing at home.
- Check for leaks in pipes, hoses, faucets, and couplings.
- Leaks outside the house may not seem as bad since they are not as visible, but they can be just as wasteful as leaks inside. Check frequently and keep them drip-free.
- Catch rainwater in barrels for use later in your garden.
- Using mulch as a ground cover in flower beds.
- Sweeping driveways and walkways, never use water to clean driveways/walkways.
- Keep swimming pools covered when not in use.
- Turning off your hose when washing your car. Turn the hose on to rinse only.
- Allowing your lawn to go dormant (brown) during drought periods. It will recover after a good rainfall.
Residents who receive their drinking water from a source other than Halifax Water, such as private well systems, are not subject to voluntary water conservation measures from Halifax Water. However, with the recent prolonged dry weather residents who rely on private well systems for drinking water may wish to conserve water to mitigate the risk of wells running dry.
To find out more about where your water comes from, visit our interactive map.
The Province of Nova Scotia’s Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSDECC) is the authority on private well systems and has the following resources available for residents to refer to:
