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.
As summer droughts become increasingly common and more severe in B.C., farmers on the Sunshine Coast are asking to be exempt from emergency water usage restrictions. The district is currently under Stage 2 restrictions — where lawn watering is not permitted, and other types of water usage are permitted with restrictions — but provincial forecasters warn the province could face a long, unusually severe drought this year.
With Canada Day on the way, expect changes to your lawn sprinkling as the Comox Valley Water System is moving to Stage 2 restrictions. The change comes as a response to current drought conditions, high demand for water, and strain on the regional water infrastructure. They apply to Courtenay, Comox, and the Comox Valley Water Local service area. Senior manager of Water and Wastewater Services Kris La Rose says the past couple of weeks have seen a near record use of water from the community.
But we don’t stop there. Merely looking at water, when we’re camping or otherwise, is just the beginning. After lapping it up and pouring it over ourselves to feel better, we pour it on our pets, our plants and our dusty vehicles after all those road trips. And so, I gently remind you, me, all of us, dear readers, especially during these hot dry summer months, that that thar blue stuff is precious. So treasure it! I remember staying with a family in Tokyo who’d known my great-aunt in Canada. After taking a nice cool shower on a muggy August day, my host gently commented, “Ah, Canadians love water.” My showers became much shorter after that, but he was right. We Canucks love our water and use it like wastrels, even during the Stage 2 restrictions now in effect.
