Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Fredericton

Fredericton considers hiking water rates as part of 2024 budget process

Fredericton considers hiking water rates as part of 2024 budget process

The City of Fredericton is looking to raise water and sewer rates for residents next year following this year's freeze in rates. The increase, if ultimately approved by councillors, would see the monthly bill for the average Fredericton household go from $73.47 to $78.17 per month, said Alicia Keating, the city's treasurer. "Not everyone is going to see the same rate change based on your bill — what you consume and what you don't — but when we look at the total average customer base of what we have, they'll see an average increase of four and a half dollars to their monthly sewer rate," said Keating, speaking during a council-in-committee open budget meeting on Tuesday.

Review of 2018 flood response found gaps in communication

Review of 2018 flood response found gaps in communication

A consultant hired to review the former Liberal government's response to devastating spring flooding in 2018 found gaps in communication and public education. The report, written by consulting firm Calian Emergency Management Solutions, says some people found it difficult to find up-to-date information on road closures and struggled to understand why flood forecasting didn't always seem to match up with reality.

Fredericton workplace death was 'preventable', Crown says in closing arguments at criminal negligence case

Fredericton workplace death was 'preventable', Crown says in closing arguments at criminal negligence case

The defence for a man charged with criminal negligence said their client had no knowledge that one of his workers would be going back into the hole where he ultimately died at a Fredericton waste-treatment plant. However, the Crown in Jason King's criminal negligence trial said King failed to take any reasonable steps to ensure Michael Henderson, 18, wouldn't go into the hole where he drowned on Aug. 16, 2018.

Accused testifies another worker installed plug that pinned teen under water

Accused testifies another worker installed plug that pinned teen under water

A man accused of criminal negligence in connection to a workplace death says he wasn't the one who set up the plug that pinned his worker under water. Jason King testified Thursday that Colin King, who is his cousin, installed the plug that ultimately slid out of a pipe and pinned Michael Henderson inside a hole in a clarifier as water filled it.

Criminal negligence trial begins in sewage plant death of Fredericton teen

Criminal negligence trial begins in sewage plant death of Fredericton teen

A trial began in Burton on Tuesday for a man accused of criminal negligence in the 2018 drowning death of a Fredericton teen, during a construction project at Fredericton's main wastewater treatment plant. Jason King was a supervisor for Springhill Construction, which is also facing charges, when Michael Henderson, 18, died at a sewage treatment plant on Barker Street.

Inflation pinches Fredericton as city falls behind on fixing potholes and old pipes

Inflation pinches Fredericton as city falls behind on fixing potholes and old pipes

Drivers in Fredericton can blame inflation — at least in part — every time they encounter a pothole. The soaring cost of goods and services brought on by inflation means the City of Fredericton needs to spend more money replacing its aging infrastructure, including roads, water pipes and buses. City treasurer Alicia Keating says inflation has meant infrastructure is not being replaced when it should, and the city is falling behind on its obligation to replace assets before they break. 

COVID-19 surged in Fredericton over holidays, new wastewater data reveals

COVID-19 surged in Fredericton over holidays, new wastewater data reveals

Fredericton had a surge of COVID-19 just after the holidays, newly released wastewater data indicates. The capital was added to the Public Health Agency of Canada's COVID-19 wastewater surveillance dashboard Tuesday night, joining Moncton as the second New Brunswick location on the national website launched nine months ago. Data dating back to Dec. 22 shows Fredericton's seven-day rolling average of viral load, expressed as the number of viral gene copies found in a millilitre of raw sewage, started out at 17 copies/ml.

Atlantic First Nations Water Authority signs deal to take over water services in 17 First Nations

Atlantic First Nations Water Authority signs deal to take over water services in 17 First Nations

The Atlantic First Nations Water Authority has signed a transfer agreement with Indigenous Services Canada to take over water and wastewater management in 17 First Nations in the region. The communities will still need a ratifying vote to officially come aboard but Chief Ross Perley of Neqotkuk, a Wolastoqey community 120 kilometres northwest of Fredericton, said the agreement signed Nov. 7 in Halifax represents much-needed empowerment for First Nations.

Inflation has Fredericton councillors looking at a pause on higher water bills

Inflation has Fredericton councillors looking at a pause on higher water bills

Fredericton councillors have agreed in principle to hold off on a rate increase to residents' water bills next year, despite concerns that doing so will put the city behind on needed infrastructure upgrades. City treasurer Alicia Keating, who laid out the proposed 2023 water and sewer budget during a meeting Tuesday night, recommended the move. The city has in recent years been hiking water rates annually by about five per cent to help replace underground pipes and other aging infrastructure.

Water monitoring continues two years after massive Minto tire fire

Water monitoring continues two years after massive Minto tire fire

Water from the site of the Minto tire fire is still being collected and treated, more than two years after the fire burned for several days in the village. The Department of Environment and Local Government has previously told CBC News that a number of different contaminants have been found in monitoring wells, including "petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, dioxins and furans," as well as the pollutant perfluorooctanesulfonic acid.

Canada invests in infrastructure to support community growth for Kingsclear First Nation

Canada invests in infrastructure to support community growth for Kingsclear First Nation

Today, Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, and Gabriel Atwin, Chief of Kingsclear First Nation, announced federal funding for further development of the Southside Subdivision in Kingsclear First Nation. This funding will allow for Phase 5 of the Southside Subdivision to move forward. It will involve clearing a wooded area to continue the construction of Muwin Crescent and extending the existing municipal water, sanitary sewer, and roadway for the development of an additional 28 building lots. Once complete, this project will provide residents access to both reliable water and wastewater infrastructure and support further residential development in the community.

New Brunswick monitoring potential for flooding as river levels begin to rise

New Brunswick monitoring potential for flooding as river levels begin to rise

New Brunswick officials are advising people in flood-prone areas of the province to pay attention as the water levels of the Saint John River are on the rise. The spillway gates at the Mactaquac Dam, near Fredericton, will need to be opened soon because of the rising water, Department of Public Safety spokesman Geoffrey Downey said Monday. “The generators are running at max, and that’s a pretty good sign of how things are trending,” he said in an interview. “In the five-day forecast it’s going from a little over 81,000 cubic feet (of water) per second up to 126,000 cubic feet per second.”

Province installs 'control structure' to protect Fredericton wetland that was accidentally drained

Province installs 'control structure' to protect Fredericton wetland that was accidentally drained

The New Brunswick government says it's taking steps to prevent a Fredericton wetland from getting accidentally drained again. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Jill Green said department staff are currently working to install a "water control structure" on a road culvert that's adjacent to the northside Ferris Street Wetland Nature Preserve, which was accidentally drained of about half a metre of water earlier this year.

Indigenous communities in N.B. say climate change is threatening their way of life

Indigenous communities in N.B. say climate change is threatening their way of life

Cecelia Brooks remembers a time when the deep forest of New Brunswick was so cold, snow could still be found in its depths in August. That rarely happens anymore, says Brooks, a traditional knowledge keeper with Wolastoqey, Mi'kmaw, Mohawk and Korean bloodlines who has been foraging and harvesting foods and medicines all of her life. These days, Brooks says, plants like the mayflower will come up, "you'll see the buds … then all of a sudden they get hit by that heat and it shrivels."

Sudden water-level drop has Mactaquac residents calling for better notice from NB Power

Sudden water-level drop has Mactaquac residents calling for better notice from NB Power

When the water level in the Mactaquac headpond unexpectedly dropped by more than a metre, it caught a lot of people off guard. "My boat is trapped," said Jean Paul Arseneau in Lower Queensbury. Arseneau keeps his boat on a lift to protect it from waves. But when the water level dropped, the boat was stranded. "It's sitting on a lift up in the air, it takes about three feet of water to take it down," said Arseneau. "And there's not a foot of water, so you can't put it down."

Rain barrels a hot commodity as summer approaches

Rain barrels a hot commodity as summer approaches

Last year's hot, dry summer, an increased interest in home gardening, and a rising awareness of the effects of climate change have people turning to rain barrels. Macx MacNichol, owner of ECO-Containers in Dorchester, converts food-grade plastic containers into rainwater-harvesting systems ranging in size from 205 litres to 1,000 litres and priced from $45 to $205. He buys the used containers from different industries in and around Moncton. MacNichol said they've been harder to come by since the pandemic started because some of his suppliers have closed, and others aren't as busy. Coupling that with an increase in demand for his product means, "every barrel that comes in today, is spoken for tonight," said MacNichol. He said last year's dry summer got people's attention.

Highway maintenance leads to water being drained from Fredericton wetlands

Highway maintenance leads to water being drained from Fredericton wetlands

A wetland in Fredericton was drained by workers with the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure who were doing highway maintenance next to the nature preserve. The Nature Trust of New Brunswick said the workers destroyed a beaver dam in the Ferris Street Forest and Wetland Nature Preserve that was blocking a culvert on the Ring Road on the city's north side. As a result, more than half a metre of water was drained from the site, causing critical damage to the area and raising concerns about the impact to the species at risk and migratory birds that use the site for nesting.

After season that went 'almost as well as you can hope', province ends flood forecasting

After season that went 'almost as well as you can hope', province ends flood forecasting

The threat of flooding along the St. John River caused by melting snow and ice is over for the season, says the provincial government. On Monday, the province announced it was ending its River Watch program, which offers daily forecasts of the water levels along the St. John River, which is prone to breaking its banks every spring. "A number of factors go into [ending River Watch] but the big one is really how much snow there is [on the ground] and this late in the season, if there is any ice left [in the St. John River]," said Geoffrey Downey, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, which participates in the program.

Water levels drop in Gagetown, but St. John River remains at flood stage

Water levels drop in Gagetown, but St. John River remains at flood stage

Water levels along the St. John River have been dropping, despite the rain and snow that fell over the long weekend. In Gagetown, water levels are hovering around flood stage at four metres — that's down from 4.2 metres over the weekend. "There are no real impacts for people at that stage," said Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for New Brunswick's River Watch program. Gagetown is the only community forecast to be at or near flood stage this week. Water levels in that area are expected to drop just below flood stage by Wednesday. "It's still being stubborn," he said.

1,000 Fredericton customers at risk of water shut-off

1,000 Fredericton customers at risk of water shut-off

The City of Fredericton is warning it may shut off water to people who haven't paid their water bills. About 1,000 customers are currently in "shut-off position," or more than three months behind, said Alicia Keating, assistant director of corporate services and acting city treasurer.

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