Water & Wastewater
The Municipality of Inverness County is responsible for providing clean, safe drinking water and reliable wastewater services in municipally serviced communities. This work involves ongoing collaboration between multiple municipal teams, each with a specific role in maintaining and improving the systems that serve residents and businesses.
To contact the Public Works Department:
- Call 1-866-258-0223, select option 4
- Email publicworks@invernesscounty.ca
How Services Are Delivered
Water and wastewater infrastructure is managed through the combined efforts of staff from Public Works, Capital Projects, and Finance. While their responsibilities differ, these teams work closely to ensure the systems operate effectively:
- Daily operations including water main repair, leak monitoring, and quality testing is handled by Public Works.
- Billing and service connection/disconnection is handled by the Finance department.
- Infrastructure upgrades are planned and overseen by Capital Projects.
Together, these teams ensure that water and wastewater services remain safe, dependable, and responsive to the needs of the community.
Public Works Quicklinks
Service Areas
The Municipality owns and operates seven water and wastewater systems in the following communities:
- Port Hastings
- Judique
- Port Hood
- Mabou
- Inverness
- Whycocomagh
- Chéticamp
There are some properties that are connected to municipal water or wastewater systems by piping (water or wastewater mains) that are privately owned and maintained. In the event of maintenance requirements, costs and coordination of maintenance is the responsibility of the private infrastructure owner.
Outside Municipal Service Areas
Wastewater
Outside service areas for the municipal wastewater systems, properties are typically serviced by private on-site sewage disposal or septic systems. These fall under the oversight of the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change and are owned and maintained by private property owners.
Resources:
- NSECC: On-site Sewage Disposal | Wastewater
- List of septic system qualified professionals: Waste Water Nova Scotia Society – Home
Water
Outside service areas for the municipal water systems, properties are typically serviced by private drinking water supplies. Private well owners are responsible for ensuring that their wells are constructed to provincial standards and for testing their water regularly to confirm that it is free of any natural or man-made impurities. The Department of Environment & Climate Change recommends testing your well water annually for bacteria and every five years for chemical contaminants.
There are two types of Public Drinking Water Supplies; “registered water supplies” and “municipal water supplies”. There are some registered drinking water supplies within Inverness County that are not owned, operated, or maintained by the Municipality but are classified by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment & Climate Change as “public drinking water supplies”. Landowners connected to these types of systems should direct any questions to the individual or organization responsible for owning, operating, and maintaining that specific water system.
Resources:
- Resources for private well owners: Private Wells | Drinking Water
- Resources for testing your well water: Testing Your Well Water, Test your well water – Government of Nova Scotia, Canada, Drinking Water Interpretation Toolkit | Nova Scotia Environment – NSE
- Information on public drinking water supplies: Public Drinking Water Supplies | Drinking Water
- Information on registered water supplies: Registered Water Supplies | Drinking Water
Commitment To Quality
The Municipality is committed to delivering safe, high-quality water to all users. Water is tested daily to meet provincial safety requirements, and infrastructure upgrades are ongoing across all seven systems. These investments help ensure that services remain reliable and sustainable for years to come.
Every year between May and October, the Municipality looks for volunteers to participate in free lead and copper water testing.
While the municipal water system has consistently tested negative for lead and copper, older household plumbing or service lines, which are the pipes connecting a home to the municipal water system, may still pose a risk at the tap.
To help identify any potential concerns, the municipality conducts annual water sampling from various residential dwellings and small-sized commercial buildings on each of the seven municipal water systems.
For residents outside of serviced communities, the Municipality can arrange water testing for a fee. For more information:
- Call: 1-866-258-0223, option #4
- Email: publicworks@invernesscounty.ca