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.
Officials with the Pembina Valley Water Co-op (PVWC) are cautiously optimistic this winter's snowfall will replenish the region's water supply after the summer drought. Persistently dry and hot conditions this past summer led the PVWC and its 14 member municipalities to declare a State of Drought Emergency due to low water levels on the Red River.. The state of emergency was in effect from July 28th until the end of October.
Persistent dry conditions this summer have led the Pembina Valley Water Co-op (PVWC) and its 14 member municipalities to declare a State of Drought Emergency due to low water levels on the Red River. The declaration, effective Wednesday, July 28th, comes following a meeting a day prior that included Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development as well as Manitoba Emergency Measures Organization. "From June 25th to July 23rd, a twenty-eight day period, the flow in the Red River was reduced from 1,532 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 752 cfs. So, it's been reduced by half in a month," explains PVWC CEO, Greg Archibald. During this same period, Environment and Climate Change Canada reports the water level on the Red River at Emerson went down 20.5 inches, from 748.287 ft down to 746.578 ft above sea level.
As communities in the Red and Pembina Valleys struggle with drought conditions and have implemented mandatory water restrictions, the situation in the Town of Carman is stable. The community is also doing its part to help the region. Right now, Carman draws potable water from both the Boyne, treated at its own water treatment plant, as well as the Pembina Valley Water Co-op's (PVWC) Water Treatment Plant at Stephenfield.
