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.
Officials say a diesel spill on a property near Lake Manitoba just over two weeks ago has been contained and there is little risk of the fuel contaminating Sandy Bay First Nation's water source, but a community official says he has concerns about the spill. "We drink from these and we eat from these bodies of water," Randal Roulette, band councillor for Sandy Bay, said on Thursday.
Husky Energy says 900,000 litres of produced water spilled from one of its pipelines in northwestern Alberta. Produced water is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction and sometimes contains residual petroleum and chemicals. Spokesperson Dawn Delaney says the spill is contained and the company is continuing to clean it up with pumps and vacuum trucks. She said there has been no observed harm to wildlife and fencing has been put up to keep animals away.
