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.
Human waste is to blame for high levels of E. coli bacteria at First Lake in Lower Sackville, N.S., according to a report commissioned by the Halifax Regional Municipality. A popular beach on the lake was removed from the municipality's beach supervision program in 2020 because of high bacteria levels, so no lifeguards have been monitoring the swimming area and the water isn't regularly tested by the municipality.
Is it poop from humans, dogs, waterfowl or another source that keeps fouling the waters of First Lake in Lower Sackville, N.S.? That's one of the questions an upcoming study will tackle. The Halifax Regional Municipality is seeking a company to conduct a study to figure out how much fecal bacteria is in the lake and where it's coming from, as well as to make recommendations on how to decrease the pollution.
