Services for Your House

Things come in, things go out. Your house is networking.

Although your house may look freestanding, it's connected to larger networks of services. Some are incoming; some are outgoing. Some of their components are visible throughout the city. Some are operated by the government; some are operated by companies. In one way or another, you help pay for all of them: through your Halifax property tax, Nova Scotia taxes, and payments to utility companies.

In each diagram below, the flow moves from left to right.

Incoming Services

Where does my house's water come from?

Water is supplied by the Halifax Regional Water Commission (Halifax Water) to properties within the water service boundary, the green area on the map. (Beyond that, water comes from private wells.)

Your water comes from Pockwock Lake, in a source water protection area 30 km northwest of the city. (Dartmouth's municipal water comes from Lake Major.)
The water is treated by Halifax Water at the J.D. Kline Water Supply Plant near Lake Pockwock.
It flows by gravity through the pipes of the water transmission main network to Halifax.
It arrives in Halifax at two water reservoirs: at the top of Robie Street in the North End and at the top of Main Avenue in Clayton Park West.
Its pressure is regulated at three locations: on Dunbrack Street, Crown Drive, and Robie Street.
It flows by gravity into the water distribution network beneath the streets of Halifax, supplying water to buildings, fire hydrants, and bulk water filling stations.
From the pipe below your street, your water flows underground through a narrower pipe and into your house.
In front of your house is a shut-off valve that Halifax Water controls.
Where the pipe enters your house, there's an indoor shut-off valve that you control.
Plumbing delivers water to your cold water fixtures and your hot water heater.

Where does my house's electricity come from?

Electricity for Nova Scotia is supplied by Nova Scotia Power.

Your electricity may be generated from nine different types of sources [at the link, scroll down to see the pie chart], including:
- coal that is burned at generating stations in Cape Breton and Trenton
- natural gas that is burned at the Tufts Cove Generating Station in Dartmouth
- biomass that is burned at the plant in Port Hawkesbury
- 32 water-powered turbines along rivers across Nova Scotia
- 300 wind turbines across Nova Scotia
- water-powered turbines in Newfoundland and Labrador, transmitted via Maritime Link
- electricity shared with New Brunswick
After electricity is generated, it is transmitted long distances, then distributed to your house, as shown in this simple diagram.
This drawing describes the electrical equipment on the utility poles along your street.
This drawing shows how electricity arrives at your house, goes to the electric meter on the outside wall, to the electrical panel inside, and finally to your appliances.

Where does my house's natural gas come from?

Natural gas in Nova Scotia is supplied by Eastward Energy.

Natural gas is extracted from underground in the United States and processed there. (Canada's natural gas from western Canada does not reach Atlantic Canada.)
It is transported through the U.S. network of pipelines.
That network connects to the Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline, which crosses the border between Maine and New Brunswick, then continues to Halifax.
In Halifax, the natural gas pipeline arrives at a transfer location on Windmill Road in Dartmouth. It proceeds underground below the harbour, then rises up to a station on Barrington Street, where its pressure is regulated.
Natural gas is distributed via underground pipes below some streets in Halifax.
A narrower underground pipe goes from the street to your house.
Outside your house, the pipe rises above ground to a gas meter and shut-off valve that Eastward Energy monitors, then enters your house to supply your heating appliances.

A simple diagram shows the steps for natural gas from extraction to delivery.

Where does my house's heating oil come from?

Crude oil is extracted from underground in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Nigeria.
Oil tankers transport the crude oil from those locations to Saint John, New Brunswick.
In Saint John, crude oil is processed into heating oil at the Irving Oil Refinery.
Coastal tankers transport heating oil from Saint John to the docks in Woodside, south Dartmouth.
Heating oil is offloaded and stored at the Halifax Harbour Terminal in Woodside.
Trucks from various companies (Scotia Fuels, Irving, Ultramar, etc.) pick up heating oil from the Halifax Harbour Terminal and deliver it to the filler pipe outside your house.
Heating oil is stored in your oil tank to supply your furnace.

Where does my house's mail come from?

Canada Post is responsible for delivering your mail.

Regular mail from other locations is transported by truck across Canada. (Xpresspost and Priority Mail travel by plane.)
Mail arrives at the mail sorting facility on Almon Street in Halifax. It is sorted into different neighbourhoods and moved into a mail delivery van.
A mail carrier drives the van to your neighbourhood and delivers the mail to your house.

Where does my house's fire protection come from?

Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency is responsible for responding to fires and other emergencies.

Fire prevention is the first step. There is a home safety checklist. An emergency fact sheet is available in English, French, Mi'kmaq, and Arabic.
If a fire starts in your house, call 911, Nova Scotia's emergency number.
The operator will notify the nearest fire station: Station 2 (University Avenue), Station 3 (West Street), Station 4 (Duffus Street), Station 5 (Bayers Road), Station 6 (Herring Cove Road), or Station 7 (Knightsridge Drive).
In urban Halifax, the first firefighter will arrive within 8 minutes. A team of up to 14 firefighters and firefighting equipment will arrive within 11 minutes.
If necessary, a firefighter will connect a fire hose to a fire hydrant, which is supplied by the domestic water pipe below the street.

Outgoing Services

Where does my house's wastewater go?

Wastewater is a responsibility of the Halifax Regional Water Commission (Halifax Water). It serves properties within the wastewater service boundary. (Beyond that, houses use septic fields.)

Waste from your sinks and toilets flows by gravity through a sloped underground pipe from your house to a sewer pipe below your street. The manhole covers along the street provide maintenance access to the sewer system.
It flows by gravity through Halifax's combined wastewater/stormwater network to the nearest pumping station: at the foot of Duffus Street, Inglis Street, Clifford Street, and near the Atlantic School of Theology on Francklyn Street.
The wastewater/stormwater is then pumped around the perimeter of the peninsula to the Halifax Wastewater Treatment Facility on Upper Water Street.
Halifax WWTF treats the wastewater/stormwater, then discharges it into Halifax Harbour.
(Until the Halifax Wastewater Treatment Facility opened in 2008, all of Halifax's wastewater and stormwater was discharged straight into the harbour, relying on the tides to flush it out twice a day.)

Where does my house's stormwater go?

Stormwater is a responsibility of Halifax Water. It serves properties within the stormwater service boundary.

Stormwater from your roof should be discharged onto a porous surface on your property, such as a lawn or garden, so that it doesn't enter the municipal sewer system.
Stormwater from your hard surfaces (driveways, etc.) flows along the street and into storm drains (catchbasins). On almost all streets on the Halifax peninsula, this stormwater flows into the same sewer pipe as the wastewater from your house. (The green lines on the second diagram below show the older combined sewer pipes, while the brown lines show newer separate storm sewer pipes.)
The manhole covers along the street provide maintenance access to the sewer system.
It flows by gravity through Halifax's combined wastewater/stormwater collection network to the nearest pumping station: at the foot of Duffus Street, Inglis Street, Clifford Street, and near the Atlantic School of Theology.
The wastewater/stormwater is then pumped around the perimeter of the peninsula to the Halifax Wastewater Treatment Facility on Upper Water Street.
Halifax WWTF treats the wastewater/stormwater, then discharges it into Halifax Harbour.

Ideally, the city should have separate systems for wastewater (which needs to be treated) and stormwater (which doesn't), so that the WWTF can operate more efficiently. As a first step, Freshwater Brook, which has been piped under the Halifax Common, under the Public Gardens, and south to Pier 24 since around 1890, is gradually being separated into stormwater and wastewater sewers, starting from the south end. This doesn't yet appear in the map below, from 2011.

map of wastewater and stormwater sewers in Halifax

Sewer map (2011); from Halifax Water and HRM

Where does my house's garbage go?

HRM is responsible for your garbage.

Garbage in your clear plastic bags is picked up by a REgroup truck and transported to the Otter Lake Waste Facility in Lakeside, west of the city.
Your bags are opened and checked before their contents go into the landfill.

Where do my house's recycled materials go?

You are responsible for sorting materials. HRM pays companies to pick up and process your recycling. Your materials go to several different destinations:

Recyclable materials in your blue bags are picked up by a REgroup truck and transported to the Materials Recovery Facility at Bayer's Lake, where materials are separated and then shipped to various locations in Nova Scotia and beyond, including other provinces, the United States, and Asia.
Organic materials in your green cart are picked up by a REgroup truck and transported to the Halifax Organics Management Facility in Goodwood, west of the city. AIM Environmental Group operates this new composting facility. Eventually, the compost goes to farms in Nova Scotia.
Household special waste is taken by yourself to the Household Special Waste Depot at 20 Horseshoe Lake Drive, Bayer's Lake.
Refundable containers, batteries, and electronics are taken by yourself to a local Enviro Depot.
Construction and demolition debris is taken by yourself to Halifax C&D Recycling in either Goodwood or Dartmouth.

Your Halifax House