Water conservation measures ordered in Mabou due to low reservoir

Inverness County is telling Mabou residents to conserve water after the community's reservoir got too low.

Chief administrative officer Keith MacDonald said Mabou's water system was shut off on Tuesday and the county will start trucking in water to refill the reservoir on Wednesday.

"We've had a serious lack of rain in September and that's caused some issues with our groundwater levels with that one production well we have for the community of Mabou," he said.

MacDonald said the water system will be restored on Wednesday and the refilling process will take at least a few days.

"We're not at a critical level," he said. "This is preventative measures. We wanted to take steps currently so that we're not in a more troublesome position a few weeks down the road."

MacDonald said a truck will be taking water from Port Hood, Whycocomagh and Inverness to Mabou and will continue with up to four trips a day until rain replenishes the reservoir.

In the meantime, he said, staff are looking to drill another well in Mabou to help provide a more secure water system for the community.

A recent study found the county is facing at least $100 million in infrastructure needs.

Chéticamp residents were asked to conserve water on Monday after a sewer main broke and needed repairs. Residents of Port Hood and Judique were also asked to conserve water a week ago.

An Environment Canada map shows the entire west coast of Cape Breton, including most of coastal Inverness County, was well below average for precipitation in September.

MacDonald said the other communities are also experiencing low water issues, but they all have more than one well and are OK.