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

clean running water

Running water again scarce in Jackson, Mississippi, after frigid weather

Running water again scarce in Jackson, Mississippi, after frigid weather

Residents of Mississippi's capital are ending the year unable to count on clean running water in their homes after a freezing winter storm brought a fresh crisis to Jackson's beleaguered water infrastructure. Residents of the majority-Black city say their main water treatment plant has been poorly maintained and funded for years. In August, its pumps failed entirely, overwhelmed by historic flooding along the Pearl River, cutting off running water entirely for Jackson's 150,000 residents and about 30,000 people in the surrounding area.

First Nation opens water treatment plant, ending decades-old drinking water advisory

First Nation opens water treatment plant, ending decades-old drinking water advisory

Shoal Lake 40 First Nation is welcoming clean, running water for the first time in nearly 25 years. The First Nation on the Manitoba-Ontario boundary is celebrating today the opening of its new water treatment plant, along with a new school. The federal government says a long-term boil-water advisory for the community, which was issued in 1998 and was one of the longest in Canada, has been lifted. The First Nation was cut off from the mainland more than a century ago during construction of an aqueduct that supplies Winnipeg with its drinking water.

Family goes without running water to simulate what it's like to live with unsafe tap water as many Indigenous people do

Family goes without running water to simulate what it's like to live with unsafe tap water as many Indigenous people do

Gordie Hanna says the last week highlighted to them that we really do take the convenience of tap water for granted. The Cambridge resident tells 570 NEWS that the other takeaway was "that people shouldn't have to do this in Canada ... anywhere." He figures they went through 130 litres of water in seven days. Hanna says "We didn't realize just how much we use, and how much we enjoy the quick and easy convenience," of turning on the tap and getting warm water for things like doing dishes.

Stuck in a hotel during a Christmas pandemic, Neskantaga members wait for water crisis to end

Stuck in a hotel during a Christmas pandemic, Neskantaga members wait for water crisis to end

"This investigation is going to open a can of worms," Quisess said. "We want Canadians to know the full story. We want Canadians to know how the tax dollars are used." Neskantaga's plant was built in 1993 and has never adequately treated and disinfected water. A long-term drinking water advisory was put in place on Feb. 1, 1995, less than two years after the plant was commissioned. It's been in effect ever since.

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