GUYSBOROUGH — Reeling between droughts and downpours, residents of Guysborough County could be easily forgiven for confusing their daily weather reports with excerpts from the Old Testament.
Just two weeks after The Journal reported on the mounting effects of one of the driest summers on record, rain has returned with a vengeance. And while it’s too soon to know if the recent deluge will be enough to turn the tide, residents and local officials alike are beginning to take stock of what’s changed – and what hasn’t.
“This year has been an eye opener,” said Scott Beaver, councillor for the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s and president of the St. Mary’s River Association. “We just kind of watched the river go lower and lower and lower until we saw some of the cool water feeder feeder streams just dry right up completely. I’ve never seen that before.”
Beaver said conditions in the watershed have improved dramatically over the past two weeks when, according to Environment Canada, more than 95 millimetres of wet stuff fell from the skies. “This November rain that we’ve been getting is exactly perfect... we’re almost at flood levels now [for the river].”
Even so, he warned, “This is unprecedented. We haven’t seen this before, so we’re going to have fires, droughts, floods. Yes, we have to think about it, do our due diligence on the municipal level.”
Others who had previously sounded the alarm struck similar notes.
“Our RecPlex is tentatively due to open on 24 November (the water situation is being monitored to ensure water quality and replenishment rates),” said Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s Warden James Fuller. “This information has been via FB posts and will be updated weekly. The use of showers at the RecPlex was discontinued with the availability of using the facilities at the recreation/workout centre located at the school. A resident can receive an electronic entry fob from the office.”
Meanwhile, he said, “Our municipal EMO staff are currently taking the lessons learned from this emergency and will be formulating possible future action plans, realizing that this may not just be a singular incident... Our council and EMO staff will be researching avenues of funding if or more appropriately, when this happens again.”
In neighbouring Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), Gabriel Thornley – postmaster of Boylston who had been among the first to organize informal water deliveries during the peak of the crisis – also reported that conditions have improved.
“The dug wells’ water levels are coming back quickly,” he said. “A lot of the rivers and brooks are refilled. The drilled wells are slower (of course being deeper) but should soon see some decent recovery. I feel the drought locally is over for now and I’ve packed away my gear.”
Still, he cautioned, “Until next year, as I don’t think this is over long term... The past few summers have been progressively worse water-wise... So, it’s best to prepare and have a plan in place in case next summer is a repeat.”
Thornley became a central figure during the height of the drought, when he used his own truck and equipment to deliver more than 90,000 litres of water to households whose wells had run dry. He later launched a Change.org petition urging MODG to create a municipal well-filling program. After receiving clarification that the municipality does not have authority to fill private wells, he withdrew the appeal. Even so, he continued making deliveries until his own supply and equipment reached their limits.
As for next year, he said, “several ideas are being discussed between myself and the other concerned community members who want to help. Ideas along the lines of supplying another public potable water source people can fill their tanks from or adding additional filters with UV light to my existing system to make lake water potable or purchasing a high flow reverse osmosis system and making it mobile. Many ideas are being discussed to find the best course of action.”
For its part, MODG’s drinking water voucher program – which has served approximately 160 homes in the municipality since the end of August – “remains active and will be evaluated for continuation over the next coming days,” according to Christina Bowie, the municipality’s Manager of Special Initiatives & Communications.
“We are all thankful and appreciative of the program,” Thornley added, “but it’s also only for drinking water. When your well is dry – how do you operate your household? Bathing, dishes, laundry, flushing? It’s simply not possible on a few litres per person per day. So, I still feel a municipal water delivery program of some kind to fill wells with potable water or supplying and filling cisterns would be beneficial. And we all shouldn’t let our guards down completely just yet.”
