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.
Water levels are beginning to rise in parts of New Brunswick, with two communities already under a water-level advisory and another one set to move to a watch by weekend, according to the province's River Watch website. An water-level advisory is two metres below flood stage, and a water-level watch is one metre below, according to the site.
Heavy downpours and strong winds are causing power outages and toppling trees and branches in some areas of southern New Brunswick. As of Tuesday evening, N.B. Power was reporting more than 4,000 power outages, with about half of those in the Kennebecasis Valley in southwestern New Brunswick and about 1,000 outages in the Moncton area. Roads in the Rothesay and Quispamsis area were littered with large branches, and heavy rain and hail continued to pelt the area.
As winter nears an end, the New Brunswick government is advising residents who live near flood-prone areas to have emergency preparations ready. "While we are weeks away from overland flooding being a potential threat, the weather over the next two days is a reminder preparedness is a year-round necessity," said Greg MacCallum, director of the Emergency Measures Organization.
An associate professor of biology at the University of New Brunswick is warning residents about blue-green algae popping up along the St. John River this summer. Janice Lawrence says mats of cyanobacteria will probably start lifting off the river bottom and washing ashore any day now. "That's when they become dangerous," said Lawrence, who has been studying blue-green algae along the St. John River for the past three years.
A bacteria blamed in previous years for killing dogs that consumed it will be investigated as a potential cause of a mystery neurological brain disease observed in New Brunswick that has killed six people, says a researcher involved in the work. Researchers studying the disease plan on looking at cyanobacteria — also known as blue-green algae — and another toxin present in the region to see if there's a link between them and the disease, said Dr. Neil Cashman, a professor in the University of British Columbia's faculty of medicine, who's helping investigate the illness.
The threat of flooding along the St. John River caused by melting snow and ice is over for the season, says the provincial government. On Monday, the province announced it was ending its River Watch program, which offers daily forecasts of the water levels along the St. John River, which is prone to breaking its banks every spring. "A number of factors go into [ending River Watch] but the big one is really how much snow there is [on the ground] and this late in the season, if there is any ice left [in the St. John River]," said Geoffrey Downey, spokesperson for the New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization, which participates in the program.
Simon Mitchell of the World Wildlife Fund and Natalie Deseta of the Nashwaak Watershed Association say planting trees, shrubs and grasses along the river and its tributaries can help reduce the risk of bad flooding in spring and from extreme rain events. "When we're thinking about flooding," said Mitchell, "our biggest issue is the frequency and intensity at which these events come." Mitchell is a habitat specialist who studies the St. John River and a vice president with the Canadian WWF based in the Nackawic area.
Water levels along the St. John River have been dropping, despite the rain and snow that fell over the long weekend. In Gagetown, water levels are hovering around flood stage at four metres — that's down from 4.2 metres over the weekend. "There are no real impacts for people at that stage," said Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for New Brunswick's River Watch program. Gagetown is the only community forecast to be at or near flood stage this week. Water levels in that area are expected to drop just below flood stage by Wednesday. "It's still being stubborn," he said.
