Halifax Regional Council has directed the municipality to work with Halifax Water to extend municipal water service to the Fall River Village Centre. An $11.6 million project will extend water services along Fall River Road from Windsor Junction Road to Highway 2, a portion of Ingram Drive, along Lockview Road (to Lockview High School) and McPherson Road, and along Highway 2 from the Fall River Road to the Highway 102 interchange. The project includes water mains, fire hydrants, main valves, and laterals to each property line.
The municipality has received funding of approximately $8.3 million from the federal and provincial governments through the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund. The remaining $2.3 million will be funded through a local improvement charge (LIC), including $119,000 from the municipality for two buildings it owned along the Fall River Road.
The property owners along the proposed water main (who can connect to it) will share this portion of the costs. A local improvement charge By-law, approved by Regional Council, formally creates the Fall River Water Service LIC. The final costs to property owners will be determined once the project is completed.
Following completion of the project, local improvement charges are invoiced annually, but other payment options are available:
- HRM Pre-Authorized Payment Plan (PAP) which allows the property owner to choose either to pay bi-weekly or monthly.
- Property owner may opt to pay through their Banking Institution (EDI) choosing their own payment schedule, i.e. weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
- The charge may be deferred through the HRM Residential Property Tax Exemption/Deferral and Deferral of Local Improvement Charges Program.
• This is an annual program for low income property owners whose annual gross household income is $35,000 or less.
Please note that the local improvement charges are separate accounts not attached to the property tax accounts.
For more information on the billing process including the above payment options and the LIC deferral program, please contact Amy Noseworthy, Customer Account Analyst, General Revenue. Phone: 902-490-6661 or e-mail.
Construction of the new water main in Fall River started in September 2017. For more information on the project, construction timelines and contact information, visit Halifax Water.
Related information and publications:
- Common questions about the Fall River Water Service Extension [PDF]
- November 2016 Report to council to investigate water servicing extension and a Local Improvement Charge for Fall River [PDF]
- June 2016 Report to council on Federal Infrastructure Application including Water service for Fall River [PDF]
- October 2012 The Rivers-Lakes Secondary Plan within the Planning Districts 14-17 (Shubenacadie Lakes) Plan
- The Government of Canada and the Government of Nova Scotia reach agreement under new federal infrastructure funding programs