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.
Unused pavement is impermeable and prevents storm water from soaking into the natural ground. Instead, the water collects debris, salt and chemicals from the surface of the pavement, then drags those toxins into nearby waterway systems. As a result, urban areas with unused pavement tend to have more pollutants in water runoff than naturalized areas.
