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.
The Yukon government is directing the owners of the Minto Mine to brace for a heavy spring melt, and to take some needed measures now to avoid a tailings pond spill into the environment. The territory is experiencing its fourth consecutive year of above-average snow pack, and that's raised concerns about whether the melt might overwhelm the mine's water storage capacity. The mine site is about 40 kilometres from the community of Pelly Crossing, Yukon.
Frigid weather that has played havoc with seasonal travel plans in many other parts of Canada is now causing problems in Yukon. A portion of a wastewater treatment facility in the Village of Carmacks, about 200 kilometres north of Whitehorse, has failed as extreme cold warnings remain in place for much of the territory. A boil water advisory has been issued for residents of the village and Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation who use private wells.
A major leak in Whitehorse's sewage system was repaired mid last week, but the extent of the procedure's environmental impacts are still unknown. The Marwell Lift Station, which acts as a conduit for the majority of the city's wastewater and sewage, was recently closed for a week to allow crews to investigate and fix the leaking pipe. During that time, the city opted to temporarily include bypass valves to dump a large volume of raw sewage into the Yukon River.
Whitehorse residents are being asked to limit their water use while crews work on repairing a damaged sewer main near the Yukon River. The city shut down the Marwell Lift Station and began to discharge wastewater into the river through bypass valves early Tuesday. While working to fix the leak, crews found additional damage.
The City of Whitehorse is asking residents to minimize water usage for the next couple of days as the city repairs a leak in the sewage line. Starting tonight at midnight, the Marwell Lift Station will be taken offline so crews can diagnose and repair the leaking pipe. Oshea Jephson, the city's communications manager, said in the meantime, bypass valves will discharge wastewater into the Yukon River.
Homes in Carmacks, Yukon, that use the village's wastewater treatment plant are now under an evacuation alert as water levels on the Yukon River continue to rise. The plant is at risk of being overwhelmed, and the village doesn't know how much longer it can last, Mayor Lee Bodie said on Sunday. "There may be an evacuation order coming any day," Bodie said.
A flood warning was issued for Carmacks, Yukon, Tuesday as the Yukon River continues to rise near the community. "Low lying areas are currently flooding," reads a news release from the Yukon government's Emergency Measures Organization (EMO). The river level rose by 21 cm in the last 24 hours, according to EMO. Part of the rise is because of rain. The weather forecast calls for more rain on Wednesday and then some clearing.
An expert who studies landslides says last Saturday's incident in Whitehorse wasn't the first and likely won't be the last. John Clague is a retired professor of earth sciences at Simon Fraser University who specializes in geological hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides and floods. He saw pictures of the landslide and said he was surprised at the amount of water that was in the sliding material. He was also surprised by how far it went, crossing Robert Service Way, the Millennium Trail and spilling into the Yukon River.
Yukoners wondering just how high water levels could get this summer should start looking to the skies. Though flood warnings remain in place for the Southern Lakes, Lake Laberge, and the Yukon River at Carmacks, Kat Hallett, a spokesperson for the government of Yukon, said one source of rising water appears to be running out. "What we've noted over the last few days is that rates of rise are decreasing a little bit," she told host Elyn Jones on CBC Radio's Yukon Morning on Tuesday.
Some property owners along South McClintock Road in Yukon have cleared out as Marsh Lake continues to rise. "It's up fairly high and, you know, it's a west wind so the waves pound those sandbags," said John Small, a Whitehorse resident who owns a recreational property on South McClintock Road. Small and some of his neighbours say they were told by emergency officials to vacate their Marsh Lake properties on Sunday.
Yukon emergency officials have issued flood watch advisories for parts of the southern and central territory. The advisories, sent Monday afternoon, say water levels in Teslin Lake and the Yukon River at Carmacks are rising and expected to continue rising over the coming days. A flood watch means that waters are rising and that flooding of areas adjacent to lakes and streams may occur. It is associated with slightly less risk than an official flood warning.
