"We ran into these clumps of algae everywhere. They're brown clumps with algae on it as opposed to algae in clumps," Wayne said. "Just the idea of what happened in [Chedoke Creek], we're out of here. I don't want to come back. It just feels gross, like I want to go home and shower." Andrew Grice, director of Hamilton Water, said the city was looking into concerns about the water raised late last week and earlier on Tuesday, but said this isn't a spill. He says it's dark, older algae that may have floated to the surface due to low lake levels and weather conditions.
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek
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.