Repost - Forested areas and forested parks closed, provincial burn ban and voluntary water conservation in HRM / Fireworks ban
**** Via HRM
Repost - Update on water conservation and support during dry conditions – August 13
The Halifax Regional Municipality is experiencing extremely dry conditions due to a prolonged period without significant rainfall. This has led to lower-than-normal surface water levels and reduced groundwater supplies across the municipality. Many residents with private wells are reporting shortages or completely dry systems. Prolonged drought can also strain municipal water supplies, making conservation efforts critical for all.
Voluntary water conservation
As of August 5, Halifax Water is asking all residents to take immediate voluntary steps to reduce water use. This helps protect our shared supply and may delay the need for mandatory restrictions.
Learn more about conservation tips from Halifax Water’s
website.
Drinking water available to residents with dry wells
The Halifax Regional Municipality, in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia, Ground Search & Rescue and Joint Emergency Management volunteer teams, is making emergency drinking water available for free to residents experiencing dry well conditions.
Beginning today through September 10, residents can collect:
Four litres per person per day
Up to one week’s supply per household at a time
Additional water is available for pets, based on their weight.
Water will be available on Wednesdays, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:
Station 39 – 14 Highway 336, Upper Musquodoboit
Water is also available at the Sheet Harbour Ground Search & Rescue facility at 44 Behie Road on Wednesdays, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
These services will be assessed on a weekly basis. Any changes will be communicated through public service announcements, website updates and social media.
Showers available to residents with dry wells
Beginning today, residents with dry wells can shower at the following municipal recreation facilities:
Weekdays: 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 to 9 p.m.
Weekends: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Residents are asked to check in at the front desk. A membership is not required to access the showers. Please check our website to verify the hours of operation for each facility. Those 17 and under should be accompanied by an adult.
Restrictions to municipal park spaces
Due to the Fire Proclamation – Travel Ban issued by the Province of Nova Scotia, restrictions are in place for wooded areas in municipal parks until October 15 (unless lifted earlier).
Fully wooded parks are closed, while parks with a mix of wooded and non-wooded areas have only the non-wooded areas open. Residents are reminded these restrictions will be enforced, with fines up to $25,000 for violations. For more information, visit our website.
For more information about water support and conservation, visit our website.
-
**** Via HRM
Repost - Residents advised of restrictions on woods in municipal park spaces
The Halifax Regional Municipality is advising residents that, due to the Fire Proclamation – Travel Ban issued by the Province of Nova Scotia today, restrictions will be placed on access to the woods in municipal park spaces, effective 4 p.m. today. These restrictions will remain in place until 2 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2025, unless the province’s proclamation is revoked or amended by further notice.
Woods, as defined in the provincial Forests Act, include forested land, rock barren, brush land, dry marsh, bog or muskeg.
Parks that are all woods will be fully closed. Parks with non-woods areas – such as greenspaces, playgrounds, sports fields and ball diamonds – will remain open for use.
For parks which have both woods and non-woods areas, the woods are closed and the non-wooded areas remain open. An example of this would be Fort Needham Memorial Park where the monument, playground and sports field remain open but the woods are closed.
Supervised beaches in municipal parks will remain open.
If these restrictions affect any recreation programming, impacted users will be advised.
The municipality is in the process of installing signage at impacted park spaces, which is expected to take several days. Regardless of the presence of signage, residents are required to adhere to these restrictions.
More information on the provincial notice of restricting travel and activities in the woods is available in the Province of Nova Scotia’s news release.
-
**** HRM Release
Repost - Municipality provides further information on restrictions to municipal park spaces
The Halifax Regional Municipality is providing further information on the restrictions placed on municipal park spaces, which were announced yesterday.
Effective Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 4 p.m., restrictions were placed on access to woods in municipal park spaces due to the Fire Proclamation – Travel Ban issued by the Province of Nova Scotia. These restrictions will remain in place until 2 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2025, unless the province’s proclamation is revoked or amended.
Woods, as defined in the provincial Forests Act, include forested land, rock barren, brush land, dry marsh, bog or muskeg.
Parks that are entirely woods are now fully closed. Examples of this include Admiral Cove, Hemlock Ravine and Shaw Wilderness Park.
Parks with non-wooded areas remain open for use. Examples of this include the Halifax Common, the Dartmouth Common, Sullivan’s Pond – as well as municipal playgrounds, sports fields and ball diamonds.
For parks which have both woods and non-wooded areas, the woods are closed and the non-wooded areas remain open. Examples of this include:
· Fort Needham Memorial Park, where the monument, playground and sports field remain open, but the woods are closed.
· Point Pleasant Park, where the Sailor’s Memorial Way remains open, but trails through the wooded areas are closed. Residents are advised that the upper parking lot, from Point Pleasant Drive, is closed.
· Shubie Park, where the campground, ballfield, Fairbanks Centre, pump track and supervised beach remain open. The trails, including the off-leash trail system and off-leash beach area, are closed.
These restrictions apply to trails that are part of any active transportation routes through woods such as the Mainland North Trail and the Chain of Lakes Trail, which are closed.
Supervised beaches in municipal parks will remain open.
The municipality is in the process of installing signage at impacted park spaces. There are over 900 municipal park spaces and signage installation, which is expected to take several days, will not be done for all parks. Regardless of the presence of signage, residents are required to adhere to these restrictions
Residents can contact 311 for more information.
If park users do not follow these guidelines, the municipality may need to put further restrictions in place.
Residents are advised that the grass at municipal park spaces and trails that are closed will not be mowed or maintained at this time. Garbage bins will continue to be emptied at all park locations to support fire safety efforts. Service requests for affected areas may not be processed while these restrictions are in place.
If these restrictions affect any recreation programming, impacted users will be advised.
Residents are reminded that these restrictions will be enforced as necessary and that violating them may result in a provincial fine of $25,000.
Both Halifax Regional Police (HRP) and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) members, along with the province’s Department of Natural Resources Conversation Officers, are authorized to issue summary offence tickets when required, which include a fine of $25,000 (+ surcharges).
If residents wish to report any violations of the restrictions, they can do so by contacting 1-800-565-2224.
For the latest information regarding restrictions to municipal park spaces, visit our website. More information on the provincial notice of restricting travel and activities in the woods is available in the Province of Nova Scotia’s news release.
-
****Halifax Water Release
Repost - Voluntary Water Conservation Measures Requested for Halifax Regional Municipality
Due to the recent prolonged period of low precipitation, water levels within our supply areas have not been replenished. With no significant precipitation forecasted in the coming weeks, these levels will continue to lower.
To conserve water, Halifax Water is requesting that all customers and those who live or work within a building serviced by Halifax Water, follow voluntary water conservation measures until further notice. By reducing our water usage, we can help ease the demand on our lakes/source water and reduce or delay the need for mandatory water conservation measures.
To confirm if you are impacted, please visit Where Does My Water Come From?
These measures include:
· If it’s yellow, let it mellow. Depending on the efficiency of your toilet, each flush uses between 6 to 26 litres of water.
· Shorten your showers. Cut back on the frequency and length of showers.
· Turn off the tap when not in use. Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth, shaving, washing your face etc.
· Wash only full loads of laundry and dishes.
Limit activities that use excess water, such as:
· Watering lawns.
· Washing vehicles.
· Filling pools.
Visit halifaxwater.ca/reducing-your-water-wastewater-use for a full list of ways to conserve water.
To learn more and find further resources and a weekly water level update visit Voluntary Water Conservation in Effect for HRM | Halifax Water
For more information on Halifax Water, please check
www.halifaxwater.ca, visit us on YouTube, or Twitter @HalifaxWater, Facebook, or call our Customer Care Centre at 902-420-9287.
-
**** DNR Release
Repost - Travel, Activities in Woods Restricted to Prevent Wildfires
---------------------------------------------------------
The Province is restricting travel and activities in the woods because continued hot, dry conditions have greatly increased the risk of wildfires.
The restrictions, effective as of 4 p.m. today, August 5, include:
- hiking, camping, fishing and the use of vehicles in the woods are not permitted
- trail systems through woods are off limits
- camping is allowed only in campgrounds.
These and other measures are in place on provincial Crown and private land until October 15 or until conditions allow them to be lifted. The fine for violating the restrictions is $25,000.
“Conditions continue to be extremely dry. Until we get a significant amount of rain, we’re at an elevated risk of wildfires,” said Premier Tim Houston. “Most wildfires are caused by human activity, so to reduce the risk, we’re keeping people out of the woods until conditions improve. I’m asking everyone to do the right thing – don’t light that campfire, stay out of the woods and protect our people and communities.”
Forestry, mining and any commercial activity on provincial Crown lands are also restricted. People who conduct this kind of activity can apply for a permit at their local Department of Natural Resources office.
While the restrictions are in place, people can still access beaches and parks, but not the trail systems. Private landowners are free to use their own properties but cannot host others to use wooded areas of their properties.
Quotes:
“We’ve had about 100 wildfires this season. They’ve all been small and put out quickly, but that could change in a heartbeat in these dry conditions. I ask everyone to co-operate, stay out of the woods and be sensible in applying these rules to help keep our people and our communities safe.”
— Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources
Quick Facts:
- the restrictions were put in place through a proclamation under the Forests Act
- people with questions about the restrictions can call their local Department of Natural Resources office
- a provincewide ban on open fires started on July 30 and will remain in place until October 15 or until conditions improve; the fine for violating the ban is $25,000
Additional Resources:
Woods restrictions proclamation:
https://novascotia.ca/natr/forestprotection/wildfire/woods-proclamation_2025-08-05.pdf
News release – Provincewide Burn Ban in Effect:
https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2025/07/30/provincewide-burn-ban-effect
Department of Natural Resources offices:
https://novascotia.ca/natr/staffdir/offices_map.asp
Natural Resources on X:
https://x.com/NS_DNR
-
**** Via DNR
Repost - Provincewide Burn Ban Remains in Effect
-------------------------------------------------------
Because of hot, dry conditions, there is a ban on open fires effective immediately across the entire province.
The ban was put in place today, July 30, and will remain in place until October 15 – the end of wildfire season – or until conditions improve. The fine for violating the ban is $25,000.
“We’ve had a lot of hot, dry weather, very little rain and there’s no significant rain in the forecast in the near future,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources. “We’ve had a lot of small, manageable fires this month and conditions are now ripe for any small fire to grow larger. Nobody wants a repeat of the devastation we experienced in 2023. I ask all Nova Scotians to co-operate, respect the burn ban and save their campfires and other open fires for a safer time.”
The ban applies to open fires such as campfires, bonfires, brush fires, fires in chimeneas and any other fire that is not enclosed and uses wood as the fuel. Unlike gas or charcoal fires, sparks could escape from an open wood fire and cause a wildfire.
Non-woodburning devices like charcoal and gas barbeques and gas stoves are allowed to be used, following manufacturer’s instructions.
Quick Facts:
- the ban was put in place through a proclamation under the Forests Act
- the Province’s BurnSafe map, which lets people know where and when burning is permitted, will remain red while the proclamation is in effect, meaning open fires are not allowed
- the proclamation overrides any permits that have been issued for industrial burning
- the ban applies to all private property and provincial lands, including parks and protected areas; the Province does not have jurisdiction over federal land
- people are not banned from entering the woods at this time, but that is another possible tool to help reduce the risk of wildfires, if needed
Additional Resources:
Burn ban proclamation:
https://novascotia.ca/natr/forestprotection/wildfire/fire-proclamation_2025-07-30.pdf
Informati
