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.
Three Metro Vancouver beaches have been closed to swimmers after high E. coli levels were detected in the water. English Bay Beach, Snug Cove Beach on Bowen Island and Oasis Beach just south of UBC's Wreck Beach have been closed to swimmers until further notice. "Vancouver Coastal Health provides daily water quality reports and today's sample counts exceed the safe level for swimming," according to a Tweet from Vancouver Park Board.
