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.
Shane Philips, a local water activist and singer/songwriter, concluded the first stage of his “Ear to the Groundwater” tour on June 11 at BlueTriton Brands’ Hillsburgh well. Throughout the week of June 7 to 11, Philips walked to all three wells in Wellington County owned by of BlueTriton (formerly Nestle Waters Canada). “We still can’t see each other for the water in our blood,” Philips said. “I’m walking for the simple issue of dignity – human dignity to have clean water.”
Shane Philips will lead a walk on Monday June 7 to the Aberfoyle bottling plant to renew Wellington Water Watchers opposition to permits to take water for bottling. Over the course of the following week Shane will walk to the Middlebrook well and the Hillsburgh well to meet local residents opposed to Triton Water Holdings Canada Inc. application for a ten-year permit to take water for bottling.
Believing they were misled by the Ministry of Environment, local advocacy group Wellington Water Watchers wants an extension on public input into the current water permit renewal applications for Aberfoyle and Hillsburgh. Triton Water, who purchased the Nestle Waters division earlier this year, has applied for renewals of their water taking permits at the two locations. Arlene Slocombe, executive director of WWW said she met with ministry representatives on April 7, and it was understood that ministry staff would notify WWW when Triton Water Canada Holdings, Inc.’s request to renew the permit to take water would be posted. Permits include a 30 day public consultation period.
Water advocates are demanding the exclusion of local wells in any sale of Nestlé’s North American water bottling portfolio, and instead return them to municipalities. This summer Nestlé announced it is considering the sale of most of its North American water bottling business. The intended sale of the Nestlé Pure Life business to Ice River Springs fell through last month because the transaction did not meet the Competition Bureau’s regulatory approval process.
