Under the terms of the deal, Rothesay assumes responsibility for past or future environmental damage caused by the chlorinated city water. (CBC)

The town of Rothesay is going to build a pond to contain Saint John city drinking water once intended for the Kennebecasis Park subdivision.

It is part of the out-of-court settlement to bring an end to the water dispute between the town and the city of Saint John.

In 2011, Rothesay began feeding its own water to the two suburban neighbourhoods of Kennebecasis Park and Hastings Cove after cutting off a city line that had been in place for 14 years. Since that time, the chlorinated water from the now under-utilized water main has simply been flushed onto the ground at the border between the two municipalities — 400 metres from the Kennebecasis River.

Rothesay Mayor Bill Bishop said the excess treated water, estimated at roughly 250,000 litres a day, will be diverted soon. He said the water will be redirected to a new holding pond as soon as the frost is out of the ground.

"Yes we have a plan, we will have a small detention pond," Bishop said. "The environment people don't want heavy chlorine dumped into the Kennebecasis River, so we will look after that."

Bishop said after the water is held for a time, it can then be safely released into the Kennebecasis River.

Chlorine can be fatal to tiny forms of aquatic life

Karen Kidd is with the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John. She said when fish or other aquatic life are exposed to chlorine, "it will damage their tissues."

Kidd says she still agrees with the town's plan, because chlorine evaporates quickly.

"If you let the water sit, especially if you're sitting out in the sunlight, the chlorine gases will evaporate out of the water," she said.

Under the terms of the settlement, the town assumes the responsibility for past or future environmental damage caused by the chlorinated city water. Rothesay will also make a one-time payment of $200,000 to the city.

Bishop says the environment department has approved the arrangement, but he acknowledges drinking water will still be wasted.

Saint John deputy mayor Shelley Rinehart says the waste will end when the city's new water treatment system is in place.

"That's why the agreement does have a termination point, because we believe that within the time of that clause we'll be able to get a solution in place," she said.

In the meantime, Bishop says some of the city water can be used for things like filling swimming pools in the summer.

The previous city council had threatened to take Rothesay to court over the matter.

In 2011, former mayor Ivan Court accused Rothesay of putting nearby Saint John residents at risk when it removed 400 of its customers from the city system.

Court said when Rothesay disconnected the Saint John water line, it created a dead-end.

Rothesay officials had argued people in the two subdivisions were not receiving sufficient water, and those residents had to buy bottled water.