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.
Bottled water will be made available to "vulnerable populations" in Wheatley and Tilbury this week as a boil water advisory for the municipality stretches on following a fire last week. In a release, the municipality said the water will be distributed for free through the Wheatley Resource Centre and Tilbury Food Bank.
Wheatley's water treatment plant might not to be return to normal operations for a year or more, but a boil-water advisory isn't expected to last that long, officials said Wednesday. The communities of Wheatley and Tilbury in Chatham-Kent have been under a boil-water advisory for a week after fire caused damage to the water treatment facility.
A boil water advisory has been issued for those on the Chatham-Kent Municipal Water Distribution Systems for Wheatley and Tilbury following a fire at a water treatment plant on Wednesday. "It has been found that the site has undergone significant damage and as a result the Wheatley Water Treatment Plant is not operational at this time," the municipality said in a media release Wednesday night.
Leadership in Eabametoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario have ended the state of emergency now the community's water treatment plant is producing running water and all of its members have returned home following community evacuations last month. The remote Ojibway First Nation of about 1,600 people is approximately 360 kilometres north of Thunder Bay and It has been in a state of emergency since July 5, after a fire broke out at the Eabametoong First Nation Water Treatment Plant.
Chief administrative officer Rob Armstrong said they sent water to be tested Saturday to determine if it was contaminated. “We do not believe it’s contaminated. This is to ensure the safety of the residents is in place,” Armstrong told Global News. “The municipality become concerned about water to fight the fire being mixed with burnt materials onsite being mixed with Georgian Bay being (nearby) and then, in turn, being close to our municipal water intake.”
Jennifer Langlois, Liberty's mayor, said the village was lucky the water plant was saved. She said the rink was closed in 2019 because of structural issues and the cost of putting in ice. The village council had been discussing demolishing the building, but hadn't made a final decision. "Just one more thing that went by the wayside in the town." Kyle Mooney, Liberty's fire chief, said firefighters arrived within a couple of minutes of Shields calling, but it was clear the rink was beyond saving. He said crews focused on saving the water treatment plant. "It's a very vital part of our town. If we were to lose that we would have been in big trouble," he said, adding that investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire. Langlois the town's water treatment plant was operational by Sunday.
The cause of the fire that destroyed the water treatment facility on Carry The Kettle Nakoda Nation has been ruled undetermined by Saskatchewan First Nation Emergency Management.
The facility was destroyed in February, leaving roughly 1,500 people without water.
According to Kimbal Ironstar, the First Nation’s projects manager, within three days of the fire they were able to hook up untreated well water and restore running water.
