Council decision to close public spring upsets Colchester residents

An unexpected decision to close a longtime community spring in the Truro, N.S., area has angered residents who regularly visit the site for clean drinking water.

The Municipality of the County of Colchester announced in a Facebook post last month that it would soon be decommissioning the publicly accessible water source, known simply as the Lower Truro spring, "due to health, safety and liability concerns."

Marcia Myers, a resident who occasionally uses the spring off Highway 236, said she's "frustrated" by the communication surrounding the closure.

"I don't know how the decision was made and that's part of, I guess, why it's hard to understand," Myers said in an interview.

"Providing some level of understanding is going to make a huge difference to, I think, the majority of people who are upset and concerned."

The spring's water source and the fill site are on land that has been leased by the municipality for the past two decades. The municipality said last month those agreements were expiring.

The municipality told CBC News in an email the decision to close the spring was made Feb. 27 at an open session of council and that no "formal community engagement process" had been conducted on the issue.

Staff has been directed to explore other options for people who use the spring, it said.

Traffic issues, verbal altercations

The email gave several reasons for the closure, including "serious motor vehicle accidents" at the frequently busy site and verbal altercations "due to people becoming impatient with long lines and with those taking a longer time to fill multiple containers."

In its Facebook post on March 17, the municipality also cited its "limited ability" to ensure the safety of water on land it does not own.

"Closure has been determined to be the most responsible course of action," the post read. 

"We understand this may be disappointing for those who use the spring, and we appreciate your understanding as we prioritize community safety and responsibility."

The post had more than 250 comments as of Friday, with people calling the decision "terrible," "discouraging," and "outrageous." 

Myers said there are a number of people in the largely rural area who rely on the spring because they don't have access to clean drinking water otherwise. 

"It's not because they don't have a well, their well's no good or they've got plumbing in their home that is outdated or has been recalled in a sense, but they don't have the funds to fix it," said Myers. 

"It feels like it's put a lot of people in a much more unsure situation than they were before, which feels very unfair."

She said she's been dependent on the spring in the aftermath of powerful storms that have left her without power and water. 

Supplying public water a liability, says municipality

The municipality said council has since passed a unanimous motion to have staff "investigate alternatives or new information regarding the spring." The topic is set to be discussed further at a council meeting later this month.

In its email to CBC, the municipality said it's not surprised by the public reaction, "given that the spring has been used by so many for so long."

"The unfortunate part is that most react and don't take time to consider or understand the liability associated with supplying water to the public," it said.

No date has been set for the spring to be decommissioned. The municipality has said it will give the public at least two weeks' notice before the closure.