 Ravaged by two world wars and the Great Depression, by 1943, Halifax's water supply had deteriorated to a critical condition.Responding to a government-commissioned report on the need for a complete overhaul of the system, the City, on January 1, 1945, formed the Public Service Commission (renamed the Halifax Water Commission in 1987) to operate and manage the water utility.Eight years later, in 1952, the Water Commission purchased the assets of the water utility outright from the City to ensure that the utility operated in a business-like manner.