BRIDGEWATER, N.S. — The Nova Scotia government has come up with a plan to stop 600 homes from dumping raw sewage into the LaHave River — but the cleanup won't happen without federal funding.
The cleanup has been championed by 12-year-old resident Stella Bowles, whose Facebook posts about her tests for fecal matter put pressure on local politicians to take action.
The announcement was made today in Bridgewater when the province signed an agreement with the Municipality of the District of Lunenburg.
Under the agreement, once the municipality receives funding from Ottawa it will start identifying properties with so-called straight pipes, which are illegal under the province's Environment Act.
The municipality is then expected to educate homeowners about the polluting pipes, and then manage a program to replace them with septic systems by March 31, 2020.
Residents will be expected to repay costs not covered by grants over a seven-year period.
