Residents in the north end of Dartmouth, N.S., say their neighbourhood park is contaminated with what appears to be raw sewage.

It’s one of a number of potential health and safety issues they say the municipality isn’t dealing with.

The Dartmouth Northbrook Park is a place where nearby residents bring their children to play, but as of lately, the reported sewage has people steering away.

“Personally I wouldn’t let my children in this park,” says Dartmouth resident Warren Wesson.

He also says Northbrook could use some basic upkeep. There’s garbage lying around, there are a number of open culverts, and issues with aging railings.

Wesson says he was shocked to find what he calls an ‘obvious health hazard’, just feet from the children’s playground: a stagnant pool of standing water, dotted with debris and smelling of raw sewage.

“There’s certainly no warning signs or whatever, to allow parents to know that water is contaminated,” says Wesson.

Wesson wants the Halifax Regional Municipality to take immediate action and close the park until it’s cleaned up. He says his calls to 311, the city’s services and information line, haven’t led to a solution.

“The issues that I see are an emergency health hazard, as opposed to something that it would be ‘just nice to have a nicer park.’”

“It’s a beautiful little park,” says area councillor Gloria McCluskey. “It means a lot to me, because I saved it from development many years ago.”

McCluskey says she worries the park is being made into a political issue. After 23 years in office, she is not reoffering this fall, and Warren Wesson is among those running for her seat.

“I’m not trying to grandstand or make hay on this disaster,” says Wesson.

Wesson says campaign or not, he wants action – and he’s not alone.

“This here has been going on for years,” says Dartmouth resident Ron Meekins. “This should be dredged or something, cleaned, it could be dredged.”

McCluskey says the city parks department is aware of the complaints, and is looking into it.

“We don’t believe it is leaking sewage,” says Adam Richardson of the Halifax Regional Municipality. “We do know that there’s been flooding in that park in the past.”

Whatever the cause, residents in Dartmouth are looking for solutions.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Sarah Ritchie