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 London enters its third heat warning of the year, the Upper Thames Valley watershed is facing a low water situation due to a lack of rainfall. The lack of rain has prompted a level one low water situation with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. Between June 15 and July 15, the watershed only received 17mm of rain — a mere 22 per cent of what is considered normal precipitation levels for that time of year.
