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.
Some property owners along South McClintock Road in Yukon have cleared out as Marsh Lake continues to rise. "It's up fairly high and, you know, it's a west wind so the waves pound those sandbags," said John Small, a Whitehorse resident who owns a recreational property on South McClintock Road. Small and some of his neighbours say they were told by emergency officials to vacate their Marsh Lake properties on Sunday.
Yukon emergency officials have issued flood watch advisories for parts of the southern and central territory. The advisories, sent Monday afternoon, say water levels in Teslin Lake and the Yukon River at Carmacks are rising and expected to continue rising over the coming days. A flood watch means that waters are rising and that flooding of areas adjacent to lakes and streams may occur. It is associated with slightly less risk than an official flood warning.
