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.
A number of drinking water advisories have been put in place throughout parts of Saskatchewan. At least six separate warnings have been issued as of Sunday afternoon, impacting the communities of Elbow, Srongfield, Loreburn, Danielson Provincial Park, Douglas Provincial Park and Pleasantdale. The province has told residents to boil water for at least one minute prior to any usage, including drinking, baking purposes, washing of fruits and vegetables and brushing teeth.
Several areas of southeast Saskatchewan were ravaged by storms that toppled trees and grain towers this weekend, while others were hammered by hail and heat waves. "It started with some rain, then the rain progressively got heavier and it just went pitch black outside," said Brooke Hein, a resident of Wapella, Sask., located about 190 kilometres east of Regina. "The rain was like waves hitting our windows and the only time you could see anything outside was when the lightning flashed and you just saw trees bending," she said.
