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 water temperatures are getting colder, and for sea turtles, this could be bad news. If a sea turtle ends up in water that's 10 C or below, it could become cold-stunned, which is similar to hypothermia but for turtles, according to April Nason, the education and outreach co-ordinator for the Canadian Sea Turtle Network in Nova Scotia.
Textiles are the largest known source of microplastic pollution in the world's oceans — making up around 35 percent of microfibres released into the waters. Every time you wash your clothes, tiny fibres are released into the waste water. These fibres then travel into lakes, oceans and marine organisms. And while most of it becomes fragmented from wastewater treatments, a large volume still escapes and the long term effects of that are still largely unknown.
With everyone back to work and school, the water quality in Saskatchewan lakes and rivers may not be front of mind for many right now. But World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD) makes this the perfect time to think about, and take action for, all those freshwater places that are near and dear to us. WWMD is an international outreach program held annually between Sept. 18 and Oct. 18. By engaging communities in monitoring the condition of local water bodies, it helps increase awareness of the importance of good water quality to life, livelihoods and personal enjoyment.
The Ontario government is investing $44,500 towards a project to improve water quality in Kawartha Lakes. On Wednesday, July 21st, MPP Laurie Scott announced, in a press release, the government would be providing these funds towards a Kawartha Conservation project. According to the press release, the project is intended to enhance “nearshore water quality and aquatic plant management in the Kawartha Lakes, Lake Ontario Drainage Basin.”
Over the last few years, WWF Canada conducted research that showed information on the health of Canada's water was lacking across the country. "We found that 65 per cent of our watersheds didn't have enough data available to understand the health of them," said Heather Crochetiere, senior fresh water specialist at WWF Canada.
A non-profit group is working with a First Nation community in northeastern Ontario to become citizen scientists. Swim Drink Fish, with funding from Environment Canada, is continuing to set up citizen science water monitoring hubs. The group is now working with Zhiibaahaasing First Nation, located at the western end of Manitoulin Island on the northshore of Lake Huron. "We're trying to build a community of people around the Great Lakes who are working for swimmable, drinkable and fishable water," Mark Mattson, president of Swim Drink Fish said.
