{"id":434406,"date":"2026-01-26T14:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/434406\/"},"modified":"2026-01-26T14:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T14:22:10","slug":"torbay-greenlights-new-water-development-as-residents-struggle-with-with-town-supply-wells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/434406\/","title":{"rendered":"Torbay greenlights new water development as residents struggle with with town supply, wells"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

In a town on Newfoundland\u2019s Avalon Peninsula, whether residents are on a well or the municipality\u2019s water reservoir, they are dealing with problems but the mayor says work is underway to address it.<\/p>\n

Since the summer, Torbay residents connected to North Pond, the town\u2019s main water supply, have been on and off water advisories, asked to conserve water where possible as well as follow a boil water advisory.<\/p>\n

Resident Nikki Grouchy said poor water has been a long standing problem.<\/p>\n

“[It\u2019s] absolutely horrible \u2026 When you turn it on, there’s a big smell. It’s brown,\u201d she told CBC News.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’ve been here two and a half years and it’s never been good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grouchy added she distrust the water so much she won\u2019t even give it to her cat to drink.<\/p>\n

Some residents on wells have also had to worry about the possibility their water has been contaminated with toxic chemicals<\/a> known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).<\/p>\n

In response to those challenges, Mayor Craig Scott said the town is working on developing Great Pond into a new municipal water source.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we develop Great Pond now, we’re going to have the ability to double, at least double the number of homes that are on municipal water services,\u201d said Scott.<\/p>\n

\"ManTorbay Maor Craig Scott says the town has received a growing number of reports of PFAS water contamination. (Mark Cumby\/CBC)<\/p>\n

In March, St. John\u2019s East MP Joanne Thompson announced the federal government would be providing $26.8 million to Torbay to develop Great Pond.<\/p>\n

Scott said council passed a motion to accept that funding last month, but said there\u2019s still about $9 million left for the town to pay for the development.<\/p>\n

For comparison, Torbay\u2019s 2026 budget totaled $12.2 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the reasons we have to develop this new water supply is because our alternate water supply at South Pond was contaminated by PFAS,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

For now, there is no timeline for the project but Scott said staff are working on putting together a request for proposals.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Great Pond development, Scott said the town is also working on putting a water treatment plant at North Pond to improve water quality.<\/p>\n

\"ManDalton Tapper says water quality is a primary concern amongst residents. (Mark Cumby\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Dalton Tapper, a resident and unsuccessful council candidate in the recent municipal election, said the increased sediment in the water, which led to a boil water order, caused problems for residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople were getting, you know, discolored water coming in through their taps in their bathtubs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During his recent campaign, Tapper said he learned water is a top issue for residents because the once booming community is now seeing a decline in new development due to ongoing water issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cTorbay is at risk of kind of stagnating,\u201d he said. \u201cAt a community level, there’s a lot of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tapper, who is one the town’s reservoir, said he chooses to buy bottled water because of the taste and concern about boil water orders.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Torbay residents say poor water supply has long been a problem:\"\"<\/p>\n

Torbay\u2019s looking at new water supply while residents grow concerned about existing quality<\/p>\n

After months of being on and off water advisories, the Town of Torbay is looking at developing a new water supply with Great Pond as residents say water quality has long been a problem.
\nGrowing PFAS contamination fears<\/p>\n

Besides issues with the town\u2019s main water source, an uncertified class-action lawsuit<\/a> has been filed against the federal government on behalf of affected residents alleging\u00a0well water has been contaminated by PFAS found in firefighting foam used at the St. John’s International Airport from the early 1980s to 2004.<\/p>\n

In a previous interview, Alex Templeton, the McInnis Cooper lawyer representing the plaintiffs, said the case currently involves around 700 households, which is about 2,000 to 2,500 people<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scott said the number of people believed to be impacted by PFAS contamination is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have noticed over the last number of months that we’ve had reports of PFAS showing up in wells in other areas besides where we initially thought,\u201d said Scott.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tapper said PFAS contamination is another reason why people may not want to move Torbay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople might be wondering if it’s safe to move into a home or buy a home in that particular area. Some people are worried if they’re going to be able to sell their home if they’re in an area,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434407,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-434406","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}