GUYSBOROUGH CO. — While public officials in drought-stricken Guysborough County plainly agree that getting bottled water to residents who need it is priority number one, not all, it seems, see eye-to-eye on how to do it.
In the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), residents can pick up vouchers at the town office without showing proof their wells are running – or have gone – dry. In neighbouring Municipality of St. Mary’s, by contrast, households are expected to provide evidence – a photograph or professional report – before they qualify for support.
Both wardens note the program is supported by Nova Scotia’s Emergency Management Office (EMO), but the differences in how it’s applied in their respective municipalities are striking, if not a little confusing.
“If you feel you need water, come in and you’re going to get the vouchers,” MODG Warden Paul Long told The Journal in an interview last week, stressing that his council is following provincial guidelines but making the decisions about how to distribute supplies.
St. Mary’s Warden James Fuller, however, insists the stricter approach in his municipality follows provincial “guidance.” Quoting from an email sent by the provincial EMO, he told The Journal in a separate interview that municipalities “will want to consider a way to vet” that residents’ wells are drying up.
While MODG is acting with “provincial support,” Long emphasized the decision to skip rigid proof requirements was municipal, not imposed by the province. “MODG is responsible but following general guidelines of other emergency measures organizations,” he explained in a follow-up email. He noted that the voucher system with local stores was chosen as “an efficient way to ensure access.”
For his part, Fuller said that while St. Mary’s standard of proof is flexible – “we’ll take almost anything” – the standard still insists that residents must show “some evidence” of a well that’s either dry or getting there.
That requirement has not gone unnoticed by residents.
“Our population is older and may risk injury doing it themselves or struggle financially if they are required to hire someone [to confirm their well levels],” Wine Harbour resident Tammie Vautour wrote in an email she shared with The Journal after questioning why her municipality appears to be leaning harder on paperwork than others. She added that when she checked with EMO, she couldn’t confirm the requirement was provincial.
That confusion prompted The Journal to ask EMO: Are municipalities formally required to verify dry wells? While the province has not responded, Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow provided clarification in a text message to Vautour, shared just before press time.
“The Department of Emergency Management offers a reimbursement program for municipalities that provide bottled water to affected residents,” Morrow explained. “The program follows Red Cross guidelines – four litres per person, per day, to a maximum of 16 litres per household – and applies only to bottled water, not well refills. All municipalities received the same guidance and tracking documents, and a province-wide meeting was held to answer questions.”
Importantly, he noted, “There is no provincial requirement for residents to lift well covers, provide photos, or hire inspectors. Suggestions were shared with St. Mary’s staff as possible accountability measures, but these were not directives. Each municipality decides how to confirm dry wells, track distribution, and manage eligibility.
“If St. Mary’s residents are being asked for additional documentation, that process would have been established locally rather than by the province.”
MODG’s voucher program, which began Aug. 13, entitles households to four litres per person, per day for up to four people. Coupons are valid for 14 days and can be redeemed at stores including the Canso Co-op, Mann’s Independent Grocer in Guysborough and Pump House Fuels in Drum Head. St. Mary’s, meanwhile, is distributing the same amount of bottled water from its municipal office.
What happens next may depend less on government directives than on the weather. After weeks of record-arid conditions, St. Mary’s has taken the additional step of imposing a mandatory water conservation order on Sherbrooke’s utility, which serves about 240 customers.
“With lower lake [water] levels, it increases evaporation. So, to avoid a problem in the future, we are having people reduce their water usage now,” Fuller said. According to the notice, anyone caught breaking the order could see their service disconnected and face reconnection fees – a measure some might find heavy-handed, but one officials say is necessary for long-term supply.
MODG has not yet considered similar restrictions for its water utility near Canso. Long said the district is “monitoring levels daily and will act accordingly as the need arises.”
In the meantime, residents on both sides of the municipal line will continue to navigate a patchwork of paperwork and vouchers – reminders that, in a dry summer, the hoops through which it’s necessary to jump for a simple glass of water may not always be common to all.
