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

damages

Destructive freshwater Zebra mussels officially found in Atlantic Canada

Destructive freshwater Zebra mussels officially found in Atlantic Canada

Zebra mussels, an invasive species that kills native mussels and chokes drinking water systems, have been discovered in the Saint John River in New Brunswick, the farthest east in Canada they've been positively identified. Fisheries and Oceans Canada said last week in a release that environmental DNA tests over the summer had detected the presence of the small Eurasian freshwater mussels with the telltale striped pattern in parts of the river as far apart as Edmundston, Grand Falls and Nackawic, communities that span more than 200 kilometres.

Water treatment plant damages to cost millions

Water treatment plant damages to cost millions

The City of Winnipeg is flushing millions of dollars in repair costs after a man trashed the city's water treatment plant earlier this week. It happened around 2:30 a.m. Sunday in the R.M. of Springfield. RCMP caught a man who broke into the vehicle yard and began driving an excavator around.

It's been 10 years since the Big Flood. How the changing climate is shaping life in Calgary

It's been 10 years since the Big Flood. How the changing climate is shaping life in Calgary

In the decade since the Big Flood of 2013, Calgary has seen a number of extreme weather events and scorching, smoky summer days. Four Calgary disasters are included in the Insurance Bureau of Canada's Top 10 list of costliest years for insured losses in Canada — three since the flood, the fourth occurring the year before. The past decade has seen a surprise September snowfall in 2014, a devastating hailstorm in 2020 that resulted in $1.2 billion in damages, and a sweltering and deadly heat dome in the summer of 2021. A number of "catastrophic" weather events have been recorded in almost every year since June 2013, resulting in billions of dollars in damages. 

Something needs to be done, but what? N.B. and feds talk flood insurance

Something needs to be done, but what? N.B. and feds talk flood insurance

Federal and provincial politicians in New Brunswick agree something needs to be done to address a lack of insurance coverage for residences and businesses in flood zones, but they seem to differ on whether secondary homes and future builds deserve their intervention. Premier Blaine Higgs and federal Infrastructure Minister Dominic LeBlanc were commenting in the wake of damage to properties along the east coast during post-tropical storm Fiona. According to Higgs, damage to about 100 properties has been reported in New Brunswick.

North Shore treatment plant work continues through major challenges

North Shore treatment plant work continues through major challenges

Thick walls of grey concrete substructure have begun to rise at the site of the massive North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant in the District of North Vancouver. Slowly, but surely, the facility is taking shape. Activity will ramp up over the summer. Additional equipment is now being brought onsite. Crews will be doing survey and maintenance work, building concrete forms for the complex, and erecting scaffolding.

North Whiteshell businesses welcome back customers after record flooding

North Whiteshell businesses welcome back customers after record flooding

Business owners in the Whiteshell Provincial Park are trying to get back to normal weeks after receiving evacuation orders amid record floods in the region. The high water in the eastern Manitoba park caused major damages, resulting in lost revenue for businesses already affected by a wet spring and delayed summer. D.J. Seales, owner of the Barrier Bay resort and president of the North Whiteshell Business Association, says the last few weeks of closures could cost surrounding businesses hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair.

As Montreal cleans up from heavy rains, mayor vows to fight off future floods

As Montreal cleans up from heavy rains, mayor vows to fight off future floods

With the help of volunteers, staff at Resilience Montreal were able to clean while still welcoming about 300 of their clients and serving them breakfast. "It makes a challenging operation more challenging still," Chapman said of Thursday's flooding. According to him, it was Resilience Montreal's fourth flood in the last three years. Eric Hammel, a resident of Montreal's Verdun borough, said his street has been flooded once a year for the last three years. "These are things you don't expect from a city like Montreal," he said. "It's stressful because you anticipate damages if things get worse."

Emergency alerts remain: Floodwater on northern Alberta Métis settlement receding

Emergency alerts remain: Floodwater on northern Alberta Métis settlement receding

The chief administrative officer of a Métis settlement in northwestern Alberta says water is slowly receding, but an emergency alert is still in place after heavy flooding in the area five days ago. Justin Gaudet of the Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement says damages are being assessed after rain and snowmelt raised water levels on nearby rivers to heights residents have not seen before. Gaudet says the excessive moisture, combined with contaminated water, has a high potential to cause mould and unlivable conditions on the settlement.

Port Stanley harbour a 'lumberyard' following flooding, marina begins cleanup efforts

Port Stanley harbour a 'lumberyard' following flooding, marina begins cleanup efforts

The owner of a long-standing marina in Port Stanley, Ont. estimates he faces $150,000 in damages due to flooding caused by an ice jam in the harbour. Warming temperatures and snow melts led to rising water levels beginning late last week. The water carried the ice jam through Kettle Creek in nearby St. Thomas to Port Stanley, leading to the closure of the King George VI Lift Bridge. David McNiece, who owns Stan's Marina, said two metres of water built up around the marina.

Canada to compensate First Nations for decades of dirty water

Canada to compensate First Nations for decades of dirty water

It’s Tuesday, January 5, and Canada is spending billions on clean drinking water for First Nations communities. Tens of thousands of Indigenous people in Canada have spent decades without reliable access to clean drinking water. Now, the Canadian government has plans to put it right. A court-approved settlement released late last month commits Canada to spending more than $4 billion on improvements to drinking water infrastructure at hundreds of Indigenous reserves throughout the country. Another $1.18 billion will be provided in damages to some 140,000 First Nations people who have lived under drinking water advisories for longer than a year, often under orders to boil water to avoid potential contamination from bacteria like E. coli.

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