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.
Looming changes to Health Canada’s acceptable concentration levels of lead in drinking water could see a wash of city homes creep above the recommended level, Epcor warned city council’s utility committee Thursday. Presently, it’s considered safe to have up to 10 micrograms per litre in drinking water. But Epcor officials said Thursday that the federal health agency is signalling it will lower that level to five micrograms per litre, a change that will affect more than 30,000 Edmonton homes.
