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.
Conditions on Lac Saint-Jean are slowly starting to return to normal after a weekend of flooding caused by record rainfall and the spring thaw. Municipalities surrounding the lake reported light flooding on Sunday, with the lake still topping the official flood mark in the area. "The water is coming down and our morale is rising," Luc Gibbons, Saint-Félicien's mayor, told Radio-Canada.
Water in Lac Saint-Jean is expected to rise to almost six metres this weekend, and officials in Quebec's Saguenay region are bracing for damage to homes from flooding. As of Saturday morning, public security officials in Roberval said the lake was at "medium" flood risk, with water levels topping the official flood mark in the area. According to Saint-Félicien Mayor Luc Gibbons, the rising waters have already damaged several roads in the city.
