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.
A teenager was found dead Friday after he reportedly got caught in a storm drain tunnel in a Toronto park during heavy rain overnight, fire crews say. Toronto fire officials say they received a call around 1:20 a.m. reporting a person being swept into the water at Earl Bales Park, the site of a large stormwater management pond in North York. They say an 18-year-old who was with the boy at the time of the incident was able to get out of the water safely and was treated at the scene.
A man has died after he fell at the Ashbridges Bay Water Treatment Plant in Leslieville this morning.
Reports indicate the man fell about 100 feet or several storeys. Emergency crews attended the scene around 11:30 a.m. and pronounced the man dead. Police labelled the incident an industrial accident.
A veterinary hospital in Halifax says a dog's recent death was connected to exposure to blue-green algae at Long Lake in Hammonds Plains. Halifax Veterinary Hospital said in a statement Wednesday that a dog suddenly died after spending about five minutes in the water at the lake on June 16. The vet hospital said the dog quickly lost the ability to stand, was non-responsive and showed "seizure-like" activity.
A grieving mom is warning people about the dangers of wading into stagnant water, after, she says, her 41-year-old son contracted a deadly flesh-eating bacteria while chasing his dog into a stagnant pond. This article contains content that may be upsetting to some of our readers. California man Jeff Bova died recently from a bacterial infection he contracted three weeks earlier, his mother Susan McIntyre told NBC News. McIntyre says Bova followed his dog into a pond created by spring rainfall in March, and that the bacteria got into his body through a minor scratch on his arm.
A trial began in Burton on Tuesday for a man accused of criminal negligence in the 2018 drowning death of a Fredericton teen, during a construction project at Fredericton's main wastewater treatment plant. Jason King was a supervisor for Springhill Construction, which is also facing charges, when Michael Henderson, 18, died at a sewage treatment plant on Barker Street.
A person in Charlotte County, Florida, has died after being infected with the rare brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri. The infection possibly resulted from "sinus rinse practices utilizing tap water," according to a news release from the Florida Department of Health in Charlotte County. The release was issued in February to alert the public about the infection.
Montreal public health officials are investigating three cases of legionellosis, known as Legionnaires' Disease, including one death. The Montreal Regional Public Health Department said Wednesday the three cases were reported in the Anjou and Mercier West areas between July 29 and Aug. 8. One of the three people, a man, died from complications of the disease.
Clean drinking water is a readily accessible resource for most Canadians yet beyond the reach of those in our community living on the streets, leaving them vulnerable to dehydration and ultimately death. On average, a person living in a temperate climate requires 3 liters (13 cups) of fluid intake a day to maintain adequate hydration for proper bodily function. Access to life-saving water remains a challenge for relief agencies and outreach programs that provide aid to those living in shelters and on our city streets. The problem is growing – the aftershock of COVID, the lack of affordable housing, the opioid crisis, poor hygiene, and a steady increase in refugees mean that the mortality rate among this high-risk group could surpass critical numbers.
The death of potentially thousands of pink salmon in the Cheakamus River has prompted questions about how BC Hydro manages water levels in some of its reservoirs. It happened Thursday night and into Friday morning, when the Crown corporation reduced the spill release from the Daisy Lake Reservoir into the river, stranding fish who had moved closer to the banks. “I was taken aback, I couldn’t believe what I saw,” professional angling guide Clint Goyette told Global News. “The amount of dead and dying fish was something I’d never seen before in the adult phase of life of these pink salmon.”
A U.S. judge has permanently blocked a Las Vegas-based bottled-water brand Real Water from being marketed while an investigation continues into at least one death and multiple cases of liver illness among people who reported drinking it. The Justice Department said Tuesday that defendants including Jones assured the court they no longer prepare or distribute the water that was sold as premium alkalized drinking water in distinctive boxy blue bottles touting “E2 Electron Energized Technology.” Labels said it was “infused with negative ions” and offers healthy detoxifying properties. That agreement also required the company to turn over to the Food and Drug Administration records about processing, bottling and distribution; and to submit to unannounced inspections of company facilities in Las Vegas, suburban Henderson and Mesa, Arizona.
A bacteria blamed in previous years for killing dogs that consumed it will be investigated as a potential cause of a mystery neurological brain disease observed in New Brunswick that has killed six people, says a researcher involved in the work. Researchers studying the disease plan on looking at cyanobacteria — also known as blue-green algae — and another toxin present in the region to see if there's a link between them and the disease, said Dr. Neil Cashman, a professor in the University of British Columbia's faculty of medicine, who's helping investigate the illness.
Microplastics may be contaminating our drinking water, according to a study published by researchers at the Geological Society of America. Their chemical threat stems largely from their ability to transport harmful compounds on their surfaces, meaning that when organisms at the base of the food chain ingest microplastics, they ingest toxins too. These toxins can build up and eventually result in responses like organ dysfunction, genetic mutation or even death. The researchers found bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used to make plastics, in all 47 human samples.
