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 reserve in central Manitoba has access to clean drinking water after what the community says was almost two decades of trucking it in. On Oct. 29 this year, Nibi Envirotech finished installing a water filtration system, giving residents of Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve — also known as Valley River First Nation — access to potable water.
Every home and business connected to the City of Winnipeg water supply could get a new water meter over the next few years, if the city approves a program to install more advanced metering systems. There are more than 200,000 existing meters in the city, 60 per cent of which are past or nearing the end of their service life, according to a new report to the water and waste committee.
They pulled 15 tires, 13 shopping carts and five bikes out of Winnipeg's Seine River. That was just some of the trash a team from an environmental non-profit removed from the river as part of their annual summer cleanup. There was also a suitcase so heavy and full of water it tipped their canoe, three knives and children's toys. Plus, oil drums, a rollerblade, and an old projector.
It also doesn't include any mention of a new water pricing structure that the strategy unveiled last November and said the province should consider. Klein wouldn't entertain questions on why the province abandoned the idea, saying instead that the action plan released Wednesday is the result of discussions with stakeholders. In the area of conservation, the plan calls on Manitoba to look at ways to reduce water use through improved food processing practices.
"The commission does not have sufficient confidence that the level of risk posed to an essential source of drinking water for the region has been adequately defined," reads a section of the 105-page document released by the Clean Environment Commission, an arms-length provincial agency mandated to provide advice and recommendations to Manitoba's environment minister. "The mining approach proposed by Sio Silica does have merit if the risks posed to the quality of water in the affected aquifers can be better defined and the management of those risks can be adequately addressed."
The Water Use Efficiency stream provides funding for projects that help reduce the amount of water used by agri-processors in production and sanitation processes, treatment of wastewater prior to being disposed or returned to the municipal system or to the recovery of nutrients from wastewater. This funding aligns with the Manitoba government’s Water Management Strategy, which guides future actions, decisions and investments to protect the province’s water resources and ecosystems while sustainably growing the economy and communities. Funding is available for up to 50 per cent of the project cost, up to a maximum of $250,000 per project.
A new copper plaque on the boulevard along Broadway at Donald Street aims to educate Winnipeggers about the source of their drinking water and the community surrounding it — Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. "For years Winnipeg members, their citizens, were able to … turn on their tap," said Chief Kevin Redsky of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation at the unveiling of the plaque on Friday. The plaque pays tribute to Shoal Lake as the source of city water since 1919, when the Winnipeg aqueduct was completed. It explains how the project impacted the First Nation community and its relationship with water. "The 24-year boil water advisory, the sickness created bathing our own children, not being able to drink safe water," Redsky said.
"They provide a lot of what we call ecosystem services," he said. "So, they provide a lot of benefit to everyday Canadians' lives, even if you don't live or work in the grasslands." They store and filter water, preventing both floods and droughts. They improve water quality. They keep soil in place, because of extensive root networks, so there's less erosion along lakes and rivers.
“It’s really important to stay hydrated and the water helps you stay cool, so that’s what we’re hoping to provide,” said Lisa Gilmour, emergency management coordinator with the City of Winnipeg. The locations were selected based on need and past experiences. They’re connected to fire hydrants to provide a continuous supply of clean drinking water, similar to what Winnipeggers would get from their home taps.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is repeating promises to update legislation that governs water use. Trudeau, while formally announcing the Canada Water Agency will be headquartered in Winnipeg, says his government will update the act around the use and development of the resource in Canada. Trudeau didn’t provide details about how the Canada Water Act would change.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau repeated promises Tuesday to update legislation that governs water use while formally announcing the Canada Water Agency is to be headquartered in Manitoba's capital city. Trudeau said his government's first priority is to update the act regulating the use and development of the resource in Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday reannounced the new Canada Water Agency, which will protect the country's freshwater supply and be headquartered in Winnipeg. "This province is home to over 100,000 lakes and rivers, with water flowing in from the Rockies and the [United] States, all the way out to Hudson Bay," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, overlooking the convergence point of two of those rivers — the Assiniboine and Red — at The Forks in Winnipeg.
Baljot Rai arrived carrying his project sign, covered with signatures of other students he met at the fair. Rai was selected as a finalist for the Canadian Stockholm Junior Water Prize for his work using zebra mussel shells to absorb phospherous in water. He and two other students from CWSF will submit reports on their projects, and the winner will compete for the Stockholm Junior Water Prize in Sweden in August 2023.
People in the northern Manitoba city of Thompson are being told to boil their water after routine testing revealed a failure in the filtration process. The failure has allowed poorly treated water to enter the distribution system, says a notice posted May 10 by Manitoba Health. Water must be boiled for at least one minute before using it for consumption, which includes drinking, making ice, preparing food or baby formula, washing vegetables and brushing teeth, the advisory says.
Flood-impacted Manitobans with private wells and cisterns can test their water supply for free, as the province pushes to waive off fees temporarily. The move will subsidize costs related to water testing. In an announcement on May 8, the province said the push aims to lift some of the financial burdens caused by flooding. It comes into effect Monday and ends on Aug. 31.
The municipality of Brandon, Man., in partnership with Esri Canada, recently implemented the geographic information system (GIS) software ArcGIS Utility Network (UN), which allows the city to see, manage and share vital information about its water network in real time. As part of the city’s strategy to modernize asset management, “the transition has immediately paid dividends,” according to a release. “With UN, staff can now visualize the most current and accurate information on the city’s water network on a dynamic map. Edits to data done in the field are instantly updated in the system and on the live network map in the office.”
The Red River reached its peak in Fargo, N.D., early Saturday morning, but the flood level is still considered moderate, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. Amanda Lee, a service hydrologist at the National Weather Service, said the river crested at 29.74 feet (just over nine metres) in the North Dakota city, which is about 225 kilometres south of the U.S.-Canada border, around 2 a.m. on Saturday.
The Manitoba government is putting together a task force to push for the timely completion of Winnipeg's most expensive infrastructure project, but the province isn't ready yet to commit any additional money to the project. Kevin Klein, the provincial environment minister and a former city councillor, and current Coun. Brian Mayes are teaming up for a new joint task force to advance wastewater projects, with particular focus on the North End Water Pollution Control Centre. Klein will serve as chair and Mayes will be vice-chair.
The prime minister's multi-stop visit in Winnipeg on Wednesday included a late-day meeting with Scott Gillingham, where the mayor says he cited inflationary pressures among the reasons why the city needs more financial help from the federal government for three major capital projects. "We as a city, the ratepayers of Winnipeg, cannot bear the total cost of the increases related to inflation," Gillingham told CBC News after his meeting with Justin Trudeau.
