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.
Nicholas Mandrak, a professor at the University of Toronto who has spent much of his career studying invasive fish species in Canada, says impacts on water systems vary by species. Prussian carp, like goldfish and common carp, will uproot vegetation in order to find food. When that happens, the fish kill vegetation that may act as nutrient sinks in sewage lagoons or drinking water ponds.
