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.
In Ottawa's vast rural boundary, you can clear cut privately owned woods on entire lots, even through floodplains and shorelines, without a permit. You can also dump clean fill, significantly altering the grade of a lot and how water drains from it, before having to submit a building application and a grading and drainage plan.
Residents near Boisé and Leo lanes in Ottawa's east end are busy filling sandbags and operating sump pumps for the third time in seven years as the Ottawa River once again floods the area. One of the snowiest winters on record in Ottawa contributed to flooding along that river that started last month. Water levels are surging again during a very rainy week. In Cumberland, located about 30 kilometres east of downtown Ottawa, longtime resident Glen Roberts is no stranger to flooding.
Residents living in Cumberland and Clarence-Rockland are taking precautionary measures, filling sandbags and preparing for the potential of flooding along the Ottawa River. Manon Lavergne is doing her best to ensure her home does not fall victim to rising flood waters. “We’re bypassing one of our underground sump pump pipes,” she said. “It actually helps when you’re not at home, at work and one of your neighbours, a nice neighbour, can look to see if your sump pump is functioning.”
Some people in the Municipality of Cumberland, N.S., could be paying 20 per cent more for water next year if a proposed merger goes ahead. The municipality wants to combine the water utilities of Parrsboro, Pugwash and Springhill into one utility, and applied for a rate increase for that one utility. Currently, the water services are all managed separately and keep accounting records separately. They file these records to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
The Village of Cumberland is receiving two grants for drinking water infrastructure. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is providing $4,475,000 for the reconstruction of a dam on Cumberland Creek and adjacent stream restoration activities. The province’s StrongerBC Economic Plan and rural development grant program is also investing $481,625 for a Union Road watermain project. The dam reconstruction work is required under provincial dam safety regulations for the purpose of seismic improvements.
