After years of drought and wells running dry, Nova Scotia community is looking to the sea

Barrington to test a wave-powered desalination system designed by a Quebec company

Moira Donovan · CBC News · Posted: Dec 26, 2023 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: December 26

One of Oneka Technologies' units — which is a smaller unit than the one that will be used in Barrington, N.S. — being tested in Florida. (Submitted by Oneka Technologies)

For most of the decades he's been a volunteer firefighter, Walter Scott, chief of the Island and Barrington Passage Volunteer Fire Department, had never seen firefighters asked to help out with water shortages.

But that changed in 2016 during an unusually dry summer when the fire department found itself delivering water to dozens of households in southwestern Nova Scotia whose wells had run dry.

"We were doing between 20 and 30 trips with water every week," he says. "​​Doing two nights of water deliveries every week for probably two months, it got to be very strenuous for the people that were taking part in it." 

In the years since then, water shortages have happened repeatedly, posing concerns for Scott who says it puts a worrisome strain on firefighters who are also dealing with other emergencies. 

The fire in Shelburne County was the largest wildfire in recorded N.S. history. Fire Chief Walter Scott says delivering water, on top of responding to other emergencies like the 2023 wildfires, overtaxed volunteer fire crews. (Communications Nova Scotia)

And as the effects of climate change intensify, the Municipality of Barrington is looking to the sea as it faces threats to its water supply. 

The municipality is partnering with a Quebec-based company called Oneka Technologies to test a sustainable approach to desalination, which could potentially see some of the community's drinking water coming from the ocean. The pilot project is set to start in 2024.

• Nova Scotia saw its most devastating wildfire season on record in 2023

While freshwater availability may not feel urgent to all Nova Scotians, particularly after the province's record-breaking rain in July 2023, project participants say it's part of preparing for an uncertain future. 

"We should, in general, think proactively to adapt and prepare for a new reality," says Dragan Tutic, Oneka Technologies' founder and CEO. "Adapting instead of reacting will really make it so much easier to prepare for next steps."

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Taxonomy

• Desalination
• Sea Water Desalinisation
• Sustainable Desalination