There will be no quick solutions to stopping human waste from finding its way into First Lake in Lower Sackville. That was the message for about 60 residents who attended a public meeting Wednesday night at the Sackville Arena.

Halifax Water officials joined City Councillor Paul Russell, and staff members from HRM’s Environment Department for the 90-minute question and answer session.

While quick not to point fingers Kenda McKenzie of Halifax Water says they suspect one source is wastewater cross-connections which she explained would be any sewer from a home being illegally connected to the stormwater system.

Paul Russell, the city councillor for Lower Sackville, says he has been working with the volunteer group Friends of First Lake to clean up the ongoing e-coli issues since 2021. But he admits tracking down these wastewater cross-connections is not easy. Residents have been told not to swim at Kinsmen Beach. The lake is also home to the Sackawa Canoe Club.

Jake Fulton, External Communications and Public Relations Advisor for Halifax Water was not surprised by the passion from the residents shown for First Lake. Fulton calls the cleanup a “significant project” and feels the community wants to see everyone working collaboratively to improve the situation.

Testing on First Lake was done by CBCL and 77% of the samples tested found traces of human waste. You can find more on the test results by clicking here.