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.
Five days after a contractor damaged water and sewer lines that forced a community near Calgary to declare a state of emergency, repairs are underway. On Oct. 21, the City of Cochrane revealed that an unnamed contractor, doing work to twin the town’s sewer line, “impacted” sewage and water lines while preparing to drill. The two ruptures sent sewage and water into the Bow River, Cochrane and Calgary’s water source. The significant loss of water reduced the town’s water availability.
The conviction against SGS Canada Inc. is for permitting the discharge of a petroleum product into a watercourse which may impair the quality of the water. The conviction against Imperial Oil Limited is for failing to forthwith notify the ministry of the discharge that may impair the quality of the water of any waters.
BC Hydro and the Site C dam’s main civil works contractor have been charged under the federal Fisheries Act for failing to immediately report the discharge of four million litres of potentially contaminated acid rock drainage water into the fish-bearing Peace River. The contractor, Peace River Hydro Partners, was also charged with depositing a harmful substance into the Peace River, according to BC Hydro’s latest quarterly Site C dam report. The report, released in late December, says the public utility learned of the charges in late October following an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A construction contractor has been fined $2.8 million for releasing contaminated water into salmon-bearing creeks in Coquitlam and Surrey in 2017. Michels Canada Co., a construction contractor based out of Nisku, Alta., was ordered to pay the sum on Dec. 6, after pleading guilty to two charges under the Fisheries Act. “These creeks are inhabited by salmonids year-round, and the presence of juvenile salmonids in these creeks during the summertime low flow period and hot weather emphasizes the importance of this habitat,” stated Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) on Dec. 8.
Four years after an incident that killed 76 cutthroat trout in a West Vancouver stream, a contractor that was working for the Ministry of Transportation is facing charges under the Federal Fisheries Act. Keller Foundations Ltd. has been charged with two counts of depositing a deleterious substance in connection to the April 30, 2018, fish deaths. John Barker was president of West Vancouver Streamkeepers at the time, which helps develop and maintain best practices for protecting stream habitat. He said he was shocked to see the dead fish littering the banks of Larson Creek, near Gleneagles Golf Course.
Two forestry companies and a contractor have been fined for their roles in 2019 road repairs gone wrong that led to flooding in a northern Saskatchewan lake, the province says. A track hoe was used to remove a beaver dam during road repairs in July 2019 near Nesslin Lake, about 200 kilometres north of Saskatoon, the province said in a Friday news release. Water and other sediment leaked into a creek before flowing south into the lake, causing water levels to rise quickly and resulting in flooding.
January is typically the busiest month for water main breaks in Calgary, but this week more than usual have occurred. On Thursday, the city's website showed 12 broken water mains, seven of which ruptured Wednesday. "That's abnormal," said Lee Dupras, leader of repair and maintenance for drinking water distribution at the City of Calgary. "I have not seen that many in one day come in since I've been in this [department] of the city."
The key contractor on a billion-dollar wastewater plant in North Vancouver is firing back at Metro Vancouver after the regional district said it is scrapping the project’s contract. The district recently said contractor Acciona Canada appeared to have “abandoned” the project. On Friday, it said it had “no choice” but to terminate the deal, accusing contractor Acciona of having “failed to meet its contractual obligations, which include delivering the project on time and within budget, as required under the initial fixed-cost design-build-finance model.” On Sunday, Acciona responded, claiming Metro Vancouver owed it millions of dollars.
Work has ground to a halt on construction of a $1-billion wastewater treatment plant in North Vancouver, B.C., after mass layoffs by the contractor. Metro Vancouver commissioner Jerry Dobrovolny said he learned Wednesday that Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP has "significantly reduced" the number of people working on the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The Village of Big Valley council heard a report from their new chief administrative officer (CAO) that repairs to the municipal water tower will likely be in the $270,000 range. The report was made at the Feb. 24 regular meeting of council, held one day earlier than normal. The meeting was streamed via Zoom and Coun. Art Tizzard was absent from the meeting.
