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.
British Columbia's public safety minister was in Abbotsford Thursday nearly a year after the area was hit by catastrophic flooding. Mike Farnworth said progress has been made rebuilding critical infrastructure on the Sumas Prairie and in parts of the Fraser Valley following last year's atmospheric river. Farnworth said permanent repairs to the Sumas River dike are expected to be completed by the end of the month.
Karl Meier has spent days battling to save his property and dairy cattle from flooding in British Columbia's Fraser Valley, but he says the biggest issue right now is with local law enforcement. "It was bad enough we had to fight the water, but now we've got to fight someone against what we're trying to do," said Meier. Meier owns U & D Meier Dairy in the Sumas Prairie region of Abbotsford, about 100 kilometres east of Vancouver. The area is under an evacuation order because of flooding in the nearby Sumas River. Police-enforced roadblocks have been set up around the area to prevent people from coming or going. Meier said this is making it difficult for people to bring in supplies to the farmers who have chosen to stay to protect their business and their animals.
