Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Wheatley

After a tumultous 2 years, Wheatley residents want answers

After a tumultous 2 years, Wheatley residents want answers

Even though Wheatley, Ont., residents are relieved that a three-week boil water advisory has now been lifted, some like Terry Lobzun say the whole ordeal adds to the mistrust and uncertainty they feel about the future of their community. As of Wednesday evening, the municipality of Chatham-Kent and its public health unit rescinded a boil water advisory for Tilbury and Wheatley. The alert was in place for about 8,500 residents in both communities after a fire broke out at the Wheatley Water Treatment Plant on Sept. 13. 

Bottled water distributed to 'vulnerable' residents in Wheatley, Tilbury amid boil water advisory

Bottled water distributed to 'vulnerable' residents in Wheatley, Tilbury amid boil water advisory

Bottled water will be made available to "vulnerable populations" in Wheatley and Tilbury this week as a boil water advisory for the municipality stretches on following a fire last week. In a release, the municipality said the water will be distributed for free through the Wheatley Resource Centre and Tilbury Food Bank. 

Wheatley water treatment plant could take a year or more to fix after fire

Wheatley water treatment plant could take a year or more to fix after fire

Wheatley's water treatment plant might not to be return to normal operations for a year or more, but a boil-water advisory isn't expected to last that long, officials said Wednesday. The communities of Wheatley and Tilbury in Chatham-Kent have been under a boil-water advisory for a week after fire caused damage to the water treatment facility.

Wheatley water treatment plant offline after suffering 'significant damage' in fire

Wheatley water treatment plant offline after suffering 'significant damage' in fire

A boil water advisory has been issued for those on the Chatham-Kent Municipal Water Distribution Systems for Wheatley and Tilbury following a fire at a water treatment plant on Wednesday. "It has been found that the site has undergone significant damage and as a result the Wheatley Water Treatment Plant is not operational at this time," the municipality said in a media release Wednesday night.

Photographer says Lake Erie erosion is putting junk into the lake

Photographer says Lake Erie erosion is putting junk into the lake

Since 2019, David Piano has used his considerable photography skills to document soil erosion along Lake Erie's north shore. Focusing on a stretch of almost 200 kilometres of lakefront from Port Burwell to Wheatley, he's captured images of crumbling cliffs and cottages swallowed by lake water eating away at the shore. Lake Erie's soil erosion problem isn't new. For years, property owners have been lobbying governments and spending thousands to combat erosion that threatens buildings, many of them seasonal cottages that have been in families for decades.

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