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 Dartmouth, N.S., councillor says work is underway to keep city beaches safe for swimming, including discouraging pigeons from roosting nearby and collecting storm water so it doesn't run into the lakes. But Coun. Sam Austin admits the amount of development around some lakes, such as Lake Banook in Dartmouth, poses significant challenges to water quality this time of year.
Swimmers are being asked to avoid Dartmouth's popular Lake Banook due to a possible blue-green algae bloom. A release from the Halifax Regional Municipality Sunday afternoon announced a risk advisory was in effect for Birch Cove Beach, and people were asked to avoid swimming there until further notice. City staff are currently investigating whether or not it is a toxin-producing algae, the release said. Blue-green algae naturally occurs in freshwater environments and can multiply rapidly during the summer, leading to extensive growth called a bloom. Some types of this algae produce toxins during blooms and those toxins may leak into the water when the bloom fades, the release said.
