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 water shortage has caused the City of Brooks and surrounding area to be put under water rationing. The Eastern Irrigation District (EID) has reported a significant drop in river levels, six to eight weeks earlier than usual due to low snowpack and early snowmelt in the region. In turn, the EID has initiated Stage 3 of their Drought Plan, limiting water usage to two-thirds of normal for residents and businesses in Brooks.
As Alberta continues to fight wildfires and deal with extreme heat warnings, climate experts are wondering what the next few months will look like for the province in terms of adequate water supply. "We went into the winter with not very much precipitation, came out of the winter with some really dry conditions and now we're really dry still," said Sara Hoffman, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. "Even near normal precipitation won't be enough to alleviate the situation we find ourselves in," she added.
