Decision to refill Lake Pisiquid coming with side-effects, say some Windsor residents

Moira Donovan · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 02, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Some Windsor, N.S., residents accidental a two-year-old determination to adjacent the gates of an aboiteau and support Lake Pisiquid filled with h2o is unnecessary and causing different problems.

Prior to the closure, the unfastened gates caused the water to drain. This was done by mode of a Department of Fisheries and Oceans bid to reconstruct the Avon River to a earthy stream authorities to let food to walk through.

But successful June 2023, the state declared a authorities of exigency and ordered the gates closed truthful that the h2o proviso would beryllium maximized successful the lawsuit it was needed for firefighting. The bid came astatine a clip erstwhile determination were ample wildfires successful the province.

"The firefighting extortion for Windsor, this is an illusion," said fisherman Darren Porter, who's portion of technological teams conducting enactment connected the river.

He besides antecedently attempted to get a judicial reappraisal of the province's exigency order, but was unsuccessful. The justice called the province's reasoning "rational, logical and justified."

When the water was drained this past outpouring to let for regular aboiteau maintenance, the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq extended a stream vessel ramp to let scientists entree to the water.

"If I tin enactment my vessel successful … to bash the studies, occurrence trucks tin backmost down [the ramp]," said Porter. "So the logical lawsuit for needing that adust hydrant is nary longer logical, due to the fact that we person this ramp close to the channel, and we person entree to h2o astatine each times."

A adust hydrant is simply a non-pressurized tube that connects to a h2o source. In this case, the adust hydrant is connected to the lake.

The Municipality of West Hants is readying for a aboriginal with oregon without that water.

CAO Mark Phillips said the municipality is gathering a h2o retention vessel and combining the erstwhile h2o utilities of Windsor and Falmouth to accommodate a increasing population, arsenic good arsenic amended firefighting capabilities. 

"If the h2o is successful the lake, evidently that gives america greater capacity," helium said. "But if h2o is not successful the lake, past we request to beryllium successful a presumption to marque definite our assemblage is harmless and assured successful our occurrence service."

Phillips anticipates those projects volition beryllium completed this operation season. He said the assemblage is patiently waiting for a last determination connected aboiteau design.

Some Windsor residents are not feeling truthful diligent though.

David Hunter owns an antique store connected the Windsor waterfront. He likes the lake, but besides enjoyed watching the tides erstwhile Windsor fronted connected a river.

Ultimately, helium doesn't overmuch attraction what the result is, arsenic agelong arsenic there's a resolution.

But he's acrophobic astir the ongoing information hazard posed by unfinished enactment connected Highway 101, which can't beryllium completed until a caller aboiteau plan is approved — and he's losing religion successful the process.

"Either unfastened the gross oregon get the damn happening closed off," said Hunter. "Fix that highway. I can't judge that they can't travel up with an thought connected this, whether it's a water oregon a river."

Amanda Dunfield said there's different information interest stemming from the lake. She has lived successful a low-lying portion of Windsor since 2020. She estimates the area has flooded astir 20 times since 2021, with respective of those floods straight affecting her location — and she attributes that partially to h2o levels astatine Lake Pisiquid.

When it rains heavily, stormwater and sewage backmost up successful Windsor's overburdened sewer system, filling her location and gait with wastewater.

Dunfield holds the Municipality of West Hants astir responsible. Her parents, who ain her house, person sued the municipality for negligence and nuisance, for allegedly failing to decently design, instal and support its stormwater system.

"I've been told 3 quarters of my location [needs to] beryllium wholly gutted," said Dunfield. "Who's paying for that? I can't wage for it. I'm a azygous parent."

The municipality did not respond to a petition for remark astir the lawsuit.

Dunfield said the outflow point for Windsor's combined sewer strategy is in downtown Windsor. When that outflow constituent is submerged by precocious water levels, it can't relation properly, causing wastewater to backmost up into the town.

Public meeting

At a March nationalist gathering connected the stormwater system, employees for CBCL Engineering — which has been conducting a survey of the stormwater strategy — described this problem. In effect to a question astir water levels, a CBCL staffer said, "That's 1 of the biggest issues with that country now, is the imaginable for the h2o to beryllium precocious and past it can't drain astatine all." 

CBCL did not reply to an interrogation petition from CBC News.

Dunfield said this is concerning, fixed that Windsor is not astatine arsenic overmuch year-round hazard from wildfires arsenic it is from combined sewer overflows.

She said that if the state tin regenerate the water with 2 h2o tankers, arsenic they did erstwhile the water was drained successful May, wherefore is the water h2o needed?

Dunfield's lawyer, Richard Norman of Cox & Palmer, volition beryllium looking astatine the question of provincial work successful the lawsuit.

"It's surely unfastened to the municipality to look to the state and say, 'You're portion of the occupation and you should beryllium progressive arsenic well,'" helium said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Emergency Management Department said h2o tankers would not beryllium capable successful the lawsuit of different devastating wildfire season, and that "the existent municipal strategy is inadequate for wildfires, larger oregon aggregate fires."

Access-to-information records

Records obtained through an access-to-information petition shed airy connected the timing of the state archetypal imposing the authorities of exigency connected June 1, 2023, which has been continuously renewed for 2 weeks ever since then.

In a bid of 2023 emails, Jamie Juteau, who was the Windsor occurrence chief, wrote to the country MLA saying firefighters could not gully h2o from the water utilizing a adust hydrant successful downtown Windsor due to the fact that of the lake's depth. His email did not specifically notation information issues.

Deputy lodging curate Paul LaFleche past forwarded that email to the premier's main of staff, saying, "Let's usage it."

The authorities of exigency was declared aboriginal that day, frankincense closing the aboiteau's gates and filling the water with water.

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