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 local health unit will begin its beach water quality testing starting June 12. Samples from the local area beaches will be taken every Monday by public health inspectors and result will be made public on Wednesday afternoons. Some extra quick tips to stay safe at the beach...to keep in mind are to read and obey the signs posted, don't go swimming if the water is rough, cloudy, or green, and if you think you may have become ill from beach water, consult your health care provider.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Tuesday that the agency is still working on a plan to bring long-term improvements to the water system in Mississippi’s capital city, which came perilously close to collapsing more than two months ago. “I am here for the fourth time in one year because I want to hear directly from you,” Regan told dozens of business people, elected officials, pastors and others during a meeting at Jackson State University.
Environment Canada forecasts sunny and warm weather this Labour Day long weekend. While the temperatures may be hot, finding a way to cool off may be a little more difficult. The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) released the findings of the latest E. coli testing at our local beaches. Six beaches are considered unsafe for swimming: Belle River Beach - 992 E. coli count, Cedar Beach - 222 E. coli count, Colchester Beach - 649 E. coli count, Mettawa Beach - 592 E. coli count, Sandpoint Beach - 216 E. coli count, Seacliff Beach - 639 E. coli count.
Pauzé says she started noticing changes in her well water when a nearby quarry, now operated by the Dufferin Aggregates division of CRH Canada, started drawing millions of litres of groundwater most days to wash gravel in 2009. The quarry is located on the northern edge of French's Hill, a groundwater recharge area where rainfall enters the ground and replenishes the regional water flow system. Owners of at least a dozen wells situated downgradient of the Teedon Pit and its aggregate washing operations have complained of changes in their water, and they suspect wash water is leaking into the underlying groundwater flow system.
The water flowing from Joel Pickard's faucet looked clear at first. But after pouring a glass — he could tell something was wrong. "I could just smell the dirt, so I took a drink and it tasted like dirt," he said. The Bathurst resident noticed what appeared to be sediment in his drinking water, so he reported it to the city in June. They told him it was safe, so his family continued using it until the taste became too strong to swallow.
People in the Oxford, N.S., area are concerned about a bad smell and water quality in two local rivers, and the Department of Environment is looking into the matter. Since about the middle of last week, people in the area have noticed a smell coming from the Black River, which flows through the centre of Oxford and into River Philip. The water is also an unusual colour, said Stephen Peck, president of the Cumberland Rivers Association.
People in Ottawa's Barrhaven neighbourhood say their tap water appears milky — and even fizzy — but city experts say the water is regularly tested and is perfectly fine to drink. Julie Paquette, a Barrhaven resident, recently started to wonder why she wasn't able see through her glass of water from her kitchen faucet. But it was a query from a Grade 6 student at the school she worked at that made her search for answers.
It stains laundry, corrodes pipes and looks terrible. The water that people in Black Tickle use for bathing and doing laundry is treated with chlorine but it remains dark and muddy because of high iron content. "It's almost like either coffee or Coke," resident Sheldon Morris said, "and it stains everything, and that's the worst."
