Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Aberfoyle

BlueTriton bottling remains sustainable despite dry year, says company

BlueTriton bottling remains sustainable despite dry year, says company

While 2022 was the driest year since water bottling companies began monitoring, BlueTriton consultants and officials maintained the company’s water taking for bottling purposes is sustainable. BlueTriton, the conglomerate who purchased Nestle Waters Canada’s operations in 2021, held a sparsely-attended in-person meeting Thursday morning at the Puslinch Community Centre going over 2022 annual monitoring reports for its wells in Aberfoyle and Erin where it has permits to take water for bottling purposes.

Province grants Blue Triton 5-year permit renewals for water bottling

Province grants Blue Triton 5-year permit renewals for water bottling

The province has renewed the operating permits of Triton Water Canada Holdings Inc. for five years at its water bottling sites in Aberfoyle and Erin. The sites were formerly owned by Nestlé Waters Canada for years before they sold it earlier this year. The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks announced the permits on Monday. A moratorium on new water taking permits was lifted in April. The new permits allows BlueTriton to take 1.1 million litres of water per day from the Erin location and 3.6 million litres a day from its Aberfoyle location. Despite concerns raised over water extraction permits for years by local community members and environment activists who believe the removal of water could have detrimental effects to the local water supply, the province says otherwise.

Water Watchers rally/march planned Monday to protest water taking

Water Watchers rally/march planned Monday to protest water taking

Shane Philips will lead a walk on Monday June 7 to the Aberfoyle bottling plant to renew Wellington Water Watchers opposition to permits to take water for bottling. Over the course of the following week Shane will walk to the Middlebrook well and the Hillsburgh well to meet local residents opposed to Triton Water Holdings Canada Inc. application for a ten-year permit to take water for bottling.

Concerns raised over process to renew local water taking permits

Concerns raised over process to renew local water taking permits

Believing they were misled by the Ministry of Environment, local advocacy group Wellington Water Watchers wants an extension on public input into the current water permit renewal applications for Aberfoyle and Hillsburgh. Triton Water, who purchased the Nestle Waters division earlier this year, has applied for renewals of their water taking permits at the two locations. Arlene Slocombe, executive director of WWW said she met with ministry representatives on April 7, and it was understood that ministry staff would notify WWW when Triton Water Canada Holdings, Inc.’s request to renew the permit to take water would be posted. Permits include a 30 day public consultation period.

Save Our Water celebrates milestone but urges continued vigilance on water protection

Save Our Water celebrates milestone but urges continued vigilance on water protection

Municipalities now can veto water taking permits for amounts above 379,000 litres a day and that’s a victory, Save Our Water officials say. But still concerning is that a business can take any amount below the threshold without municipal approval. And they can appeal zoning decisions to LPAT “and their decision will be binding,” said McCaw. The recent sale of Nestlé’s North American water bottling operations to One Rock Capital Partners and Metropoulos & Co. is no cause for celebration, McCaw added. “The issues are the same,” she said listing the environmental footprint of the operation, pollution from plastic bottles, as well as the threat to the local water supply, as key concerns.

Water is priceless, but not free: How much should it cost?

Water is priceless, but not free: How much should it cost?

No Canadian pays for water – not citizens, farmers or industry. Under NAFTA first – and now the USMCA – if the government starts selling water, it becomes an exportable product, which is widely recognized as a very bad idea. What does cost money is the use of water infrastructure: things such as pipes, testing and labour. Large industrial users are charged more than residents for the privilege, but the amount collected from commercial water bottlers in Ontario has long been criticized as ridiculously low. Until 2017, the administrative fee was just $3.71 for every million litres. The provincial government now charges $503.71 for that amount.

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