Thousands being asked to conserve water due to low levels in Lake Major

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Low water levels in Lake Major has prompted officials to ask people in multiple communities to conserve water.

A string of days with low precipitation has resulted a 1 meter drop in the normal levels of Lake Major, the water body that supplies 118,000 people in the communities of Dartmouth, Burnside, Cole Harbour, Westphal, North Preston and Eastern Passage.

Click here to understand which areas are impacted.

A map from Halifax Water shows the impacted communities in red. (Halifax Water)

To conserve the reservoir, Halifax Water is asking all residents and businesses supplied by Lake Major to follow voluntary water conservation efforts until further notice.

The efforts include:

• If it’s yellow, let it mellow: Depending on the efficiency of your toilet, each flush uses between six to 26 litres of water
• Shorten showers: Cut back on the frequency and length of showers
• Turn off the tap when you don’t need it: Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face etc.
• Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.

This is the third time since 2016 that Halifax Water has asked residents to voluntarily reduce their water consumption. The goal is to maintain water service for all people in the watershed, and the reduction will be in effect until rainfall can replenish levels.

A graph from Halifax Water showcasing water usage per activity in the home.

Halifax Water said there is still plenty of water in the lake, but the current design of Lake Major’s water intake does not account for significantly lower water levels, but as the lake level drops, it gets closer to the intake and will eventually leave it dry.  The utility also said they have an engineered solution to ensure continuity of service to our customers if water levels continue to drop. However, the goal is to reduce demand to maximize the time before this engineered solution is implemented. Hopefully, this will allow for rainfall to replenish the lake and remove the need for further action. A new intake system at Lake Major is expected to be completed sometime in 2029.