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 Sault Ste. Marie task force is releasing the findings of its community consultations that will help shape its bid to become the future home of the Canada Water Agency. Creation of the new federal agency was announced in 2020, with officials saying its goal is to help improve freshwater management in Canada. In Sault Ste. Marie, an official bid to host the agency was launched last year, with the Sault's central location to the Great Lakes as a big selling point.
Canadian officials have found traces of the emergent pollutant class PFAS in a drinking water intake area connected to Lake Memphremagog. The chemicals, found in water meant for the city of Sherbrooke by Quebec’s environmental ministry last fall, have spurred concern from environmentalists on both sides of the border. The findings add to years-long talks about the border-spanning lake, which flows north and supplies drinking water for more than 175,000 Canadians.
The province's plan for large-scale expansion of the industry is fueling widespread criticism that includes concerns over selenium pollution. The data shows that same contaminant has been found for years at high levels downstream of three mines and never publicly reported. The findings raise questions about Alberta Environment, said a former senior official who has seen the data. "There were lots of [selenium] numbers and it was consistently above the water quality guidelines and in many cases way higher," said Bill Donahue, the department's one-time executive director of science. "Why did Alberta Environment sit on these data for easily the last 10 to 15 years?"
