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.
Environmental studies have been taking place at Pringle Creek over the past two decades to determine the extend and risks of chemical contamination to the Whitby, Ont., waterfront. Leanne Lumb-Collett, environmental program manager for the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), said the source of contamination has been traced to a building adjacent from Pringle Creek, and started decades ago.
