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

Michigan

Mural on FEDCO building celebrates importance of clean water, sustainability

Mural on FEDCO building celebrates importance of clean water, sustainability

Multiple vignettes flow through the mural connected by an undulating blue wave of water that crashes and rolls from one end of the wall to the other. The piece, a collaborative brainchild of Laporte and FEDCO, was fittingly given the working title "Water is Crucial to Life." It was renamed "Beyond the Current" at the conclusion of the work. "This mural was based around the concept of water being crucial to life. All life," Laporte said. "This project emphasizes the abundance of water that makes up our world, while reflecting the strong community ties in Monroe, as well as the importance of sustainability and the providing of fresh drinking water on a global scale."

Why Michigan is trying to shut down Canada's Enbridge Line 5 pipeline

Why Michigan is trying to shut down Canada's Enbridge Line 5 pipeline

An ageing pipeline crossing part of the Great Lakes has led to a standoff between the US state of Michigan and Canada. The outcome of the battle over Line 5, which delivers energy to the US Midwest and central Canada, will be viewed by many as a bellwether of how North America will balance its energy future with its environmental commitments. The most contentious part of the Line 5 pipeline - which runs from Superior, Wisconsin, by way of Michigan to Sarnia, Canada - sits on the bed of the Straits of Mackinac. The narrow waterway connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron - two of the world's largest lakes.

Michigan judge tosses charges against former governor in Flint water crisis

Michigan judge tosses charges against former governor in Flint water crisis

A Michigan judge has dismissed charges against former Governor Rick Snyder in connection with the Flint water crisis, his attorney said on Friday, several months after the state Supreme Court ruled that grand jury indictments returned in the case were invalid. Genesee Circuit Judge F. Kay Behm dismissed the case against Snyder, his attorney Brian Lennon said in an email to Reuters. Snyder was governor in 2014, when under state-appointed managers the government of Flint, a majority-Black city, switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River to cut costs.

Schools in Flint, Michigan have clean drinking water again thanks to The Elon Musk Foundation

Schools in Flint, Michigan have clean drinking water again thanks to The Elon Musk Foundation

Thanks to a donation from The Elon Musk Foundation, school students in Flint, Michigan have clean drinking water for the first time since 2016. A total of 136 hydrations were recently installed at 12 different Flint school buildings. One of the stations was unveiled at a special ceremony on Tuesday at the Flint Southwestern Academy. Fifteen of the 136 stations were installed at this school, which provides education to students in grades 8 through 12. The hydration stations were made possible through a $480,000 donation by The Elon Musk Foundation, which also provided $423,000 to buy laptops for middle school students.

This city will rely on bottled water for weeks because of high lead levels

This city will rely on bottled water for weeks because of high lead levels

State officials on Thursday defended their response to a lead crisis in a small southwestern Michigan city, telling lawmakers that steps to reduce corrosion in aging water pipes began in 2019, just a few months after tests revealed troubling results. Benton Harbor residents will be urged to use free bottled water for drinking and cooking for weeks more, until a federal study confirms that filters can work effectively with the city's tap water, Liesl Clark, the head of Michigan's environmental agency, said.

Michigan Officials Say Lead-Contaminated Water in City of Benton Harbor Not Safe to Consume

Michigan Officials Say Lead-Contaminated Water in City of Benton Harbor Not Safe to Consume

Back in the U.S., Michigan officials have warned residents in the city of Benton Harbor not to use tap water for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth due to lead contamination. The city’s tap water was found to contain lead levels up to 60 times the federal limit as early as 2018. That’s higher than the contamination of Flint’s tap during its water crisis. Advocates are calling for officials to declare a state of emergency and for the EPA to intervene. The population of Benton Harbor is 85% Black, and nearly half of its residents are poor.

Activists call on Biden to shut down Canadian oil company's Line 5 pipeline in Michigan

Activists call on Biden to shut down Canadian oil company's Line 5 pipeline in Michigan

A coalition of environmental activists called on President Joe Biden to weigh in on the ongoing fight to decommission Line 5, Canadian oil company Enbridge's aging oil and gas pipeline in Michigan's Great Lakes. The coalition, which includes groups like Clean Water Action, Oil and Water Don't Mix, the Michigan League of Conservation Voters, and the National Wildlife Federation, says it delivered more than 33,000 petition signatures to U.S. Sen. Gary Peters requesting that he pass them on to Biden. The coalition says they also plan on delivering the signatures to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow and the White House.

Water activists in Michigan urge Canada to stop supporting Line 5

Water activists in Michigan urge Canada to stop supporting Line 5

Water activists are calling on Canadian officials to back Michigan's efforts to close the Line 5 dual pipelines, which have spilled more than a million gallons of oil into the Straits of Mackinac and surrounding waters. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered Canadian natural gas company Enbridge Energy to close Line 5 in May, but they have ignored the order while challenging it in court.

Water advocates call for Nestlé’ wells to be returned to municipalities if sale happens

Water advocates call for Nestlé’ wells to be returned to municipalities if sale happens

Water advocates are demanding the exclusion of local wells in any sale of Nestlé’s North American water bottling portfolio, and instead return them to municipalities. This summer Nestlé announced it is considering the sale of most of its North American water bottling business. The intended sale of the Nestlé Pure Life business to Ice River Springs fell through last month because the transaction did not meet the Competition Bureau’s regulatory approval process.

Liberal MPs call on Ottawa to tackle ‘national public health crisis’ of lead in drinking water

Liberal MPs call on Ottawa to tackle ‘national public health crisis’ of lead in drinking water

A group of federal Liberal MPs are asking their government to invest up to $400 million to combat the “health crisis” of lead-contaminated drinking water which was exposed in communities across the country by a national investigation by 10 media outlets, including Global News and the Toronto Star. An open letter written by Hamilton MP Bob Bratina says the government “can and must” direct a portion of infrastructure spending designed to revitalize the post-COVID-19 economy into the “national public health crisis we face in the form of lead-contaminated drinking water.”

Côte Saint-Luc has some of the worst tap water in Quebec due to lead contamination

Côte Saint-Luc has some of the worst tap water in Quebec due to lead contamination

The Montreal Island city of Côte Saint-Luc has some of the worst tap water in the province, according to testing results for lead released through access to information legislation. The test results, compiled by Quebec’s Environment Ministry, show that 46 tap water samples from the Montreal Island city of 30,000 people had more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of lead over a four-year period from 2015 to 2018.

Our national shame: The racism inherent in our First Nations water crisis

Our national shame: The racism inherent in our First Nations water crisis

There is also concern the changes that were made that allowed some of the advisories to be lifted were just temporary fixes. There are long-term, structural problems with the water treatment systems in many Indigenous communities that have not been addressed. Many of these places lack the proper equipment needed to remedy the operational issues with which they are confronted.

14 million Americans are drinking carcinogen-polluted tap water

14 million Americans are drinking carcinogen-polluted tap water

The drinking water of some 14 million Americans is contaminated with a cancer-causing industrial solvent called Trichloroethylene, or TCE, according to a new EWG analysis of tests from public utilities nationwide. EWG’s Tap Water Database, which aggregates test results from utilities nationwide, shows that in about half of the systems it monitors, average annual levels of TCE were above what some health authorities say is safe for infants and developing fetuses.

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