There are still half a dozen properties in Halifax where sewage is flowing directly into the harbour, despite the municipality declaring the $333-million Harbour Solutions Project complete last year.

James Campbell, a spokesman for Halifax Water, said the utility is making progress on reducing the number.

"Since 2004, we've made significant progress, actually I'd say excellent progress in getting a lot of these either businesses or private homes to connect to our system. Essentially, at that time, there were about 42. We're now down to about six," said Campbell.

"That's the equivalent of approximately 7,000 people's discharge worth of sewage and it's important to remember that these projects can take a number of weeks or months to undertake. It can be a significant investment anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, all the way up to $1 million, depending on how complicated the job is."

One property owner accounts for a large number of people. Five Killam Properties apartment buildings on Maplehurst Drive in Dartmouth discharge sewage into a storm sewer that flows directly into the harbour.

Killam said it only discovered the problem in 2010, and is working to fix it.

The company said the plan for the new pipeline was approved in March and construction to connect the buildings with city sewage lines will begin in the spring.