Yarmouth’s Fire Chief says with the lower than normal water level in Lake George, they have been doing an inventory of available water supplies in the area.
John Verrall says because the town is on a water main system, it relies on Lake George to feed the fire hydrants used at fire scenes and
to fill the tanker trucks.
He says for calls outside the town its even worse because the tankers need somewhere to draw water from.
Verrall says many ponds used by rural departments to fill their trucks are dry or very low.
“Every year it gets low, but it’s never ever been this low. Even if we do have some water left in them, you’re going to be soaking up some of the bad stuff on the bottom and getting into our pumps. That’s another consideration we have to look at.”
Chief Verrall says while they can use water from the harbour to fight fires, the salt damages equipment.
Salt water also causes dangerous chemicals when used on wood fires.
