Water conservation restrictions that have been in place in Lunenburg, N.S., following a dam breach Wednesday have officially been lifted as of Saturday.
“We are pleased to report that water conservation efforts have been very helpful and overnight significant progress was made in restoring the Town’s water reserve,” the Town of Lunenburg shared in an update Saturday afternoon.
The town eased measures on Friday before officially ending them Saturday around 12:45 p.m.
“It will still take a little longer to get the pumps fully restored, but in the meantime, we are able to announce that effective immediately, all water restrictions have been lifted.”
Dam breach
Emergency officials, engineers and contractors first responded to the Dares Lake Dam, which serves as Lunenburg’s drinking water source, around 4 p.m. Wednesday.
The town said the breach affected the ability to pump water through the pumping station, resulting in a reduction in the available water supply.
That prompted Lunenburg to issue a water conservation order, urging residents to limit non-essential water use. Businesses and schools were also closed while the restrictions were in place to help conserve water.
The breach had been contained and secured as of Friday.
The town said the cooperation of residents and businesses has been “crucial to this process.”
“Thank you for your patience, cooperation, and commitment to conserving water over the past few days.”
‘Lots of questions’
Mayor Jamie Myra told CTV News the dam was newly installed in the last nine months. On Friday, he said he was disappointed and frustrated by the breach.
“We don’t know exactly what happened, so at this point there’s no sense in laying blame – I know there will have to be answers given, there will be lots of questions to ask when this is done. Right now, our number one priority is fixing the problem,” he said Friday.
With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Natalie Lombard, Callum Smith, Sean Mott and Andrea Jerrett
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