Newfoundland town declares state of emergency, closes businesses as water runs out

ST. JOHN’S – A mayor near Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city said his town of about 27,000 people would likely run out of water by Tuesday evening.

Darrin Bent said officials noticed earlier in the day that the water flow was decreasing to Conception Bay South, on the outskirts of St. John’s. They soon found a main pipe was leaking and the town’s water reserves were running out, he said.

“Within the next two to three hours, we’ll be out of water,” Bent said in an interview at about 5 p.m. local time.

The town declared a state of emergency and asked all businesses to close. Residents were not allowed to use water for anything other than emergencies.

“It’s something that really throws your life into a bit of chaos,” Bent added. “Schools were set to open out here tomorrow morning. That seems very unlikely at this point.”

The situation comes after Conception Bay South, or C.B.S., spent much of August under a state of emergency and various evacuation alerts because of wildfires. A fire near Holyrood, N.L., about 16 kilometres southwest of C.B.S., triggered evacuations in early August. Another fire later in the month, near St. John’s, led to evacuation alerts for parts of the community.

People in C.B.S. have been through a lot, Bent said. And it’s not clear when the water emergency will end.

The broken pipe is in a “difficult area” that will take some time to excavate and fix, Bent said. He said he expects that work to carry into Wednesday. Even after water is once again flowing through the pipe, there will be other work necessary to recharge the water tanks, he said.

It’s not clear why the concrete pipe failed, though Bent noted that the line is about 50 years old.

In the meantime, local fire crews and neighbouring towns have water tankers ready in case water is needed to put out a fire, he said.

“We’re greatly appreciative of our neighbours and the help that they have offered us,” he said. “It’s something we did for each other … over the past two, three weeks with wildfires. Now, they’re coming to our aid in a situation where we’re in desperate shape for water.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.