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.
Cambridge council is set to consider a motion that could see public water fountains returned to the city’s downtown. The motion, tabled by Ward 7 councillor Scott Hamilton, is on the agenda for Tuesday’s council meeting. The argument made is, while Canada is home to around 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater reserves, downtown Cambridge is a dry spot when it comes to readily accessible drinking water.
The drinking water supply in the city of Cambridge has higher levels of sodium than recommended by Health Canada according to regular water quality reports taken by the region. The Region of Waterloo website states that regular sodium levels in drinking water should be below 20 mg/L. Anything higher must be reported to public health. A major cause of the increase is the way roads are treated and the type of salt that is used over the winter months. It's an issue the region is working on.
Go into any store these days and there's a mixture of people wearing masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and those who are opting not to wear one. It may have people feeling like they're in COVID-19 limbo. Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the Region of Waterloo's medical officer of health, says currently there's "no cut and dry threshold" when it comes to mask wearing and "it will vary according to individual comfort levels."
Wastewater testing in the Region of Waterloo shows the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has pushed infection levels to more than 10 times higher than ever before but there are early indications that infections may be starting to level off. Thursday's data published by the Region of Waterloo contains the first sign of hope for a slowing down of infection during the latest wave of the pandemic.
Gordie Hanna says the last week highlighted to them that we really do take the convenience of tap water for granted. The Cambridge resident tells 570 NEWS that the other takeaway was "that people shouldn't have to do this in Canada ... anywhere." He figures they went through 130 litres of water in seven days. Hanna says "We didn't realize just how much we use, and how much we enjoy the quick and easy convenience," of turning on the tap and getting warm water for things like doing dishes.
The City of Cambridge is installing new technology in 1,200 homes in west Preson and west Galt to better monitor water usage. Water meters will be retrofitted so city staff can read meter data remotely, and people can track their daily water usage online. City officials say that will also help them quickly identify possible leaks or flow issues.
