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 Town of Cochrane says its reservoir levels are no longer critically low. In a statement Wednesday night, the town said water conservation efforts and water hauling from Rocky View County and Calgary are making a difference. But more than a dozen homes have no water as repairs continue on ruptured lines. A handful of businesses are also cut off.
After this summer's unprecedented heat wave across B.C., authorities in the Gulf Islands say the season's drought is one of the worst they've experienced in recent memory. "This is yet another year where we have a lot of concerns," said Peter Luckham, chair of the Islands Trust Council. He said he's noticed very low groundwater levels for this time of year on Thetis Island, where he lives.
The British Columbia government is restricting water use around a river on southeastern Vancouver Island that is so low its fish populations — including steelhead, coho salmon and trout — may be threatened.
The Forests and Lands Ministry says the current flow of the Koksilah River south of Duncan has dropped below 180 litres per second, meaning habitat conditions are "severely degraded."
