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.
It’s hard to think of Walkerton, Ont. without thinking about drinking water. The Bruce County community made international headlines when seven people were killed and thousands fell ill after drinking the town’s E. coli tainted water in May 2000. In the wake of that tragedy, the Walkerton Clean Water Centre (WCWC) was built in 2004 to help change the town’s image from one of infamy to excellence, by providing world-class training and research to drinking water operators across the province.
