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.
Thousands of residents of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., who have been without running water since Monday after a major water-main break, were beginning to get it back on Friday morning. The city warned residents to boil the water for one minute before consuming it and to delay running appliances that use lots of water to avoid overloading the newly repaired pipe.
A major water main break has caused Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., to declare a state of emergency as half the population — about 26,000 households, or 56,000 people — has been without running water for more than 48 hours. The city, about 40 kilometres southeast of Montreal, says water won't be back until at least end-of-day Thursday.
