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

contaminated tap water

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

This time of year, with the temperature plunging below -20 C, a snowmobile and an ice chisel are required tools for anyone in Tataskweyak Cree Nation in need of fresh water. There’s the bottled stuff, trucked into town courtesy of the federal government, but the weekly shipment of 1,500 cases is only sufficient to meet basic consumption needs. For cleaning, cooking and basic hygiene water, many residents need a supplementary source. And rather than use their tainted tap water, they follow a snowmobile trail several kilometres to Assean Lake, pails in hand.

Halifax Water considers accelerated plan to replace lead pipes after Tainted Water investigation

Halifax Water considers accelerated plan to replace lead pipes after Tainted Water investigation

Halifax Water is considering an expensive proposal to speed up the replacement of its customers’ underground lead pipes in the wake of a groundbreaking investigation, exposing widespread risk of contaminated tap water in hundreds of thousands of homes in Nova Scotia and across Canada. The utility board will review a report during a meeting on Thursday that cites the Tainted Water series as an impetus for the recommended course of action. The new plan would cost $14 million, but save money in the long run, the report said.

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