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.
W5 investigated aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. We spent several months trying to get to the bottom of two things: Where are these pipes, and is there asbestos in Canada’s water? We reached out and asked over 100 towns, districts and municipalities what types of pipes were in use, and whether there were maps of these networks.
Over 500 kilometres of asbestos cement pipes run through Regina’s water utility system, according to findings from a W5 investigation. Due to their supposed durability and low cost, over two million kilometres of asbestos cement pipes could be found around the world at one point, with Canada being no exception. Asbestos was once considered a miracle mineral, being used in thousands of products for its insulating and fireproofing properties.
