A water shortage has forced the Town of Fortune, Newfoundland to cut off water supply to the neighbouring Town of Grand Bank. The two towns have shared Fortune’s water supply for a number of years under an agreement that allows Fortune to cut off Grand Bank during times of scarcity.
A recent drought has left water levels lower than in recent memory
“I never, ever seen our water levels so low, and the long-term forecast is not good as well,” Grand Bank Mayor Rex Matthews told the CBC. “We’re going to be into some challenging times.”
The town’s back-up reservoir may be low as well, and the quality of its water is questionable.
“With our own water there’s a lot of silt build-up in our dam, and consequently there’s a lot of dirty water that goes through our system and causes all kind of problems for our people and our community,” Matthews said. “Fortune water was a lot more in terms of quality—the quality is better in terms of there’s no dirty water from their reservoir, it’s absolutely clean.”
The town is asking residents to conserve water and has met with its area Member of the House of Assembly to discuss emergency funding.
