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.
The Portage Diversion will be closed Saturday due to declining water levels on the Assiniboine River but the floodway will remain open, according to a release by the province. A flood warning continues for the Red River from Emerson to the Red River Floodway channel inlet. The province said the Red River is expected to peak sometime between April 20-22 in Emerson with peak flows ranging from 20,000 and 24,300 cubic feet per second.
A judge has found the Manitoba government at fault for severe flooding along Lake Manitoba that destroyed homes and forced evacuations a decade ago. Manitoba's Court of Queen Bench Justice Joan McKelvey made the ruling in a decision released on Friday. McKelvey acknowledged high precipitation contributed to the overland flooding, but it didn't negate the impact of Manitoba's decision to intentionally divert water into the lake to protect Winnipeg.
