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.
Cochrane has declared a state of local emergency after water line breaks drained the town’s water supply — alongside sewage — into the Bow River, and town officials are pleading with residents to cut back on water use. At a news conference Tuesday, town officials said the effects of the break in water and wastewater lines Saturday have depleted water reservoirs to “critical levels.”
The Town of Cochrane has declared a local state of emergency as it copes with the aftermath of a major pipeline break over the weekend that has left its water reservoirs at critical levels. During a news conference on Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Jeff Genung said he signed off on the declaration because it gives the town legal authority to take "extraordinary actions" to deal with what he called the crisis at hand.
Thousands of farmers protested in Madrid on Wednesday over Spain's plan to reduce the amount of water taken from the Tagus river to irrigate agricultural land in the country's southeast. Spain experienced its hottest year on record in 2022. The heat, accompanied by a long drought throughout most of the year, caused reservoirs to fall to critical levels. Environment Minister Teresa Ribera said on Tuesday the curbs were necessary to prepare the country for the effects of climate change.
