N.S. premier calls for investigation into Halifax Water after boil-water advisory

A camera points at Tim Houston.

Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston is calling for more accountability from the province’s largest water utility service.

A boil-water advisory was in place earlier this week for more than 200,000 Halifax Water customers after a power issue caused the chlorination process to fail at the J.D. Kline (Pockwock) water treatment plant.

The boil-water advisory is the second time the chlorination system failed after a power failure in the facility.

This time, the facility went to backup power during a schedule outage by Nova Scotia Power, but when electricity was restored, a surge blew a fuse and interrupted the chlorine treatment process, prompting the advisory early Tuesday morning.

The boil-water advisory was lifted two days later, but many questions remain regarding the power system and the overall performance of the water treatment system at the Pockwock Lake facility.

Houston wrote a letter Friday to Stephen McGrath, the chair of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB), calling for an investigation into the power malfunction and a list of improvements “to restore competence and confidence in the organization.”

“When Halifax Water does not perform as it should, the health of tens of thousands of Nova Scotians is put in jeopardy. That is not acceptable,” said Houston in the letter.

“Taxpayers expect Halifax Water to put the safety of its customers first. They deserve nothing less. I am hopeful that a UARB investigation will set Halifax Water on the road to providing a safe, responsive and reliable service.”

The boil-water advisory forced Nova Scotia Health to postpone hundreds of surgeries. Houston told CTV News Halifax Water should reimburse Nova Scotia Health for their financial loses.

“Thousands of people were inconvenienced and worried because Halifax Water failed to provide safe drinking water,” said Houston. “Businesses were disadvantaged and the impact on Nova Scotia’s health system will be felt for months.”

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 apologized and thanked customers for their patience and co-operation during the advisory. The utility confirmed there will be an internal investigation into the cause and the results will be made public.

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