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

Barrie

Tap into Barrie water at local beaches this summer

Tap into Barrie water at local beaches this summer

The City of Barrie Water Operations branch is going on the road this summer and bringing free drinking water to a beach near you. Residents, visitors, and summer camp participants are invited to fill up their reusable bottles with Barrie tap water for free at the city’s water trailer this summer. The water trailer will be at Tyndale Beach or Centennial beach every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Aug. 31, 2023, weather permitting and subject to staff availability. The water trailer holds enough tap water to fill 2,000 reusable water bottles.

Biodiversity loss is threatening Canada’s wetlands; here’s why it matters

Biodiversity loss is threatening Canada’s wetlands; here’s why it matters

The swamps of the Minesing Wetlands, a 15,000-acre area about 15 kilometres west of Barrie, Ont., are not the most immediately welcoming of places. Convincing someone to spend a day exploring the thick, forested marshes—with clouds of mosquitoes in the air and bloodsucking leeches in the water—isn’t easy. I should know. I’ve been trying to convince friends to join me on a trip there for years. Again and again, my attempts are met with two questions: why would I visit, and why should I care?

Tatham Engineering names leader for water and wastewater team

Tatham Engineering names leader for water and wastewater team

Jun Liu, P.Eng., has rejoined Tatham Engineering at its office in Collingwood, Ont., as group leader for the firm’s water and wastewater engineering department. Liu has more than 20 years’ experience and has contributed to water and wastewater projects across Ontario. He previously worked at Tatham from 2005 to 2007 as a project engineer. He continued in that role for the city of Barrie, then worked as a water and wastewater process engineer for the regional municipalities of Niagara and York. Most recently, he was a senior engineer with Indigenous Services Canada.

WSP in Canada to Help Deliver Barrie Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade

WSP in Canada to Help Deliver Barrie Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade

WSP in Canada is a member of the consortium that has secured the contract for the Barrie Wastewater Treatment Facility Upgrade. This represents the largest wastewater contract in Ontario, to date, to adopt the Integrated Project Delivery procurement model. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is a form of contracting that promotes collaboration through shared responsibility for all elements of a project’s execution. Team members work together to solve issues and manage risks, leading to a project delivery process that promotes information sharing and creating efficiency to deliver maximum value for the clients and the communities they serve.

City's plan to help Indigenous people with clean water trickling along

City's plan to help Indigenous people with clean water trickling along

A plan to improve water services to Indigenous communities has lost a little current. The proposal is to dedicate 0.2 per cent of Barrie’s water/sewer revenue next year toward Water First and its efforts to improve water services in First Nations communities. The plan would cost about $100,000, or about $1.77 for the average Barrie household in 2022. It was to be part of 2022 budget talks next week, but that will have to wait. While city staff have started consulting local First Nations groups about the donation, those talks haven’t finished at this time. Water First, a Creemore-based non-government organization (NGO), has a program to train young Indigenous people from reserves to become certified in operating a water plant through a 15-month paid apprenticeship, which is where the $100,000 would be spent.

Barrie boy turns foul experience at Blue Jays game into a positive

Barrie boy turns foul experience at Blue Jays game into a positive

To say the Hillcrest Public School third-grader was excited to go to the Oct. 1 home game with his dad would be an bit of an understatement, but that joy quickly turned to sadness and frustration after the pair was forced to leave the game following a complaint they made about the amount of water the youngster received from one of the concession stands. Father and son used to regularly attend games, but this was their first time back to Rogers Centre since prior to the pandemic. “I said to him, ‘Here’s $15 to spend at the game’ and he could spend it however he liked. He wanted to get popcorn and a pop, so we went to the concession,” father Bob Cole tells BarrieToday. “He said he was still thirsty because pop doesn’t really quench your thirst and asked if he could get some water. I told him he wouldn’t have to worry about (not having enough money) because water is free.” Bob says when they asked for a cup filled with water, they didn’t provide much more than four ounces in the large cup, adding he spoke to a manager at the stadium and was told to “take it or leave it” and that "because they sell water on site, they can’t be giving it away for free.”

City's plan to help Indigenous communities with water services remains up in the air

City's plan to help Indigenous communities with water services remains up in the air

A city plan to improve water services to Indigenous communities is heading downstream. Barrie city council approved a motion Monday night to consult with Indigenous communities, including the Barrie Native Friendship Centre and the Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle, on the possibility of dedicating 0.2 per cent of its water and wastewater revenue forecast in the 2022 budget toward Water First, and that organization’s efforts to improve water services in First Nations communities.

CITY INTRODUCES WATER/WASTEWATER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME BARRIE HOUSEHOLDS

CITY INTRODUCES WATER/WASTEWATER FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FOR LOW-INCOME BARRIE HOUSEHOLDS

The City of Barrie recently introduced a new financial assistance support program to help offset water/wastewater bill costs for low-income households in Barrie. The program allows successful applicants to be credited a portion of their water/wastewater bill back to them. “Council understands that with more people working at home, learning at home, and caring for people at home, water bills have become a larger part of people’s monthly costs,” said Mayor Jeff Lehman. “Through this new support program for low-income households, the City can give a hand to those struggling with the cost of living.”

City could help Indigenous communities overcome 'unacceptable' drinking water situations

City could help Indigenous communities overcome 'unacceptable' drinking water situations

Barrie could dedicate 0.2 per cent of its 2022 water and wastewater revenue — or about $100,000 — toward efforts to improve water services in Indigenous communities. City councillors will consider a motion to that effect Monday night, to help overcome the effects of colonization, discrimination and racism on Indigenous communities in Canada. “About 40 per cent of Ontario’s (Indigenous) reserves are currently operating under a boil water advisory. That is unacceptable,” said Deputy Mayor Barry Ward, whose motion is an item for discussion Monday. “I thought making a direct contribution to improve access to clean drinking water in Indigenous communities would be a wonderful gift from the residents of Barrie in the spirit of reconciliation.

Liberal government will miss drinking water target by years, CBC News survey shows

Liberal government will miss drinking water target by years, CBC News survey shows

The Liberal government will miss a target it set during the 2015 federal election campaign to lift all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations by March 2021 — in some cases by several years — according to a survey of communities by CBC News. More than a dozen First Nations said projects to end long-term drinking water advisories won't be completed by the promised deadline.

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