The Water and Wastewater Facilities and Public Drinking Water Supplies Regulations requires an owner of a “public drinking water supply” to regularly monitor drinking water quality for the parameters listed in the Guidelines for Monitoring Public Drinking Water Supplies (PDF:205k), as well as other substances as may be required by the Minister or an Administrator.

A "public drinking water supply” means a water supply system, including any source, intake, treatment, storage, transmission or distribution, that is intended to provide the public with potable, piped water and that:

1. has at least 15 service connections,
2. regularly serves 25 or more persons per day for at least 60 days of the year, or
3. serves any of the following for at least 60 days of the year:

1. a day care facility licensed in accordance with the Day Care Act,
2. a permanent food establishment licensed in accordance with the Health Protection Act,
3. a commercial property for the accommodation of the travelling or vacationing public comprising land used for camping or for overnight parking of recreational vehicles or containing a separate building or buildings containing at least 1 room to be used as an alternate form of accommodation in a campground,
4. a commercial property for the accommodation of the travelling or vacationing public containing more than 4 rental units, including cottages or cabins.

Public drinking water supplies are divided into two categories as follows:

• Approved Water Supply means a public drinking water supply that holds a municipal water works approval issued under the Activities Designation Regulations made pursuant to the Environment Act for the collection, production treatment, storage, supply or distribution of potable water to the public.
• Registered Water Supply means a public drinking water supply that holds a registration with NSEL under the Water and Wastewater Facilities and Public Drinking Water Supplies Regulations made pursuant to the Environment Act for the collection, production, treatment, storage, supply or distribution of potable, piped water to the public. Examples of registered water supplies include: trailer parks, apartment buildings, rural developments, schools, day cares, nursing homes, industrial or commercial buildings, eating establishments, fixed roof accommodations, recreational facilities, campgrounds, etc. that are not connected to a municipal water works.

Boil water advisories are issued when sampling and testing detects higher than accepted amounts of coliform bacteria or if there are deficiencies with regard to chlorination or other forms of disinfection.

To improve access to information that may assist Nova Scotians and other interested parties make informed decisions about their health, the boil water advisory lists for municipal and registered public drinking water supplies are available on the internet. The documents below list the boil water advisories that are currently in effect as of the date shown on the documents:

• Municipal List (PDF:22k)
• Individual List (PDF:31k)

While every effort is made to ensure the timeliness and accuracy of the information, the Province of Nova Scotia assumes no liability or responsibility for the completeness, accuracy or usefulness of any of the information.

For more information, contact the local offices of Nova Scotia Environment or call 1-877-9ENVIRO.

• Boil Water Fact Sheet (PDF:50k)
• Fiche de renseignements - Directives pour l'utilisation de l'eau pendant une période où l'eau doit être bouillie (PDF:49Ko)
• Users That Must Take Particular Precautions During a Boil Advisory (PDF:33k)
• Well Disinfection Procedure (PDF:20k)
• Preparing an action plan when contamination persists following disinfection (PDF:19k)

Download: Boil Water Advisory Sign (PDF:60k)