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.
Rising floodwaters in the Fort Frances, Ont., area are leaving people living there with feelings of helplessness, one resident says. Water levels on Rainy Lake set a record last week, surpassing one set in 1950. "I had a feeling that there was going to be a lot of water when spring did roll around," Nathan Calder said Tuesday. "Ice on the lake held on for a lot longer than it usually does.
Town officials in Fort Frances are continuing to work to address flooding in the northwestern Ontario community. As of Monday, Fort Frances has closed sections of Front Street, as well as walking and bike paths along the street. Also closed are the Front Street playground and fitness equipment, the Sorting Gap Marina gas docks and boat launch, Lookout Tower, the Hallett, Crowe Avenue Dock, Point Park and Seven Oaks.
Heavy rain Friday night and Saturday morning resulted in a pumping station near the Memorial Sports Centre to fail. Town spokesperson Patrick Briere says crews have been working around the clock to keep water flowing. “It (got) to a point overnight last night where we had a critical infrastructure failure at one of our lift stations. We have crews on scene. They’ve been working all night, and they continue to work to alleviate the problems and the back-ups. We are pushing at 100% capacity for water right now,” says Briere. Briere says residents should ensure their sump pumps are flowing outside.
