Halifax water utility says blown fuses at plant led to release of unchlorinated water

Halifax’s water utility has issued a preliminary report on the cause of last month’s boil water advisory that affected more than 200,000 people.

In a report released today, Halifax Water says a power outage on Jan. 20 blew fuses to the water pumps at its Pockwock plant, even though the facility’s backup generator was functional.

The utility says the resulting loss of power to the equipment interrupted the chlorine disinfection process.

The backup chlorination system became airlocked and as a result water was pumped out of the plant for 66 minutes without receiving a final treatment of chlorine.

Officials lifted the boil water advisory on Jan. 23, and Halifax Water says it will release a final report on the plant malfunction on March 21.

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A similar boil advisory was issued in July after partially chlorinated water was released from the plant following electrical problems and the failure of its emergency generator.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 4, 2025.