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.
New data shows most of the world’s lakes are shrinking. The study was published by the journal Science, done by University of Virginia hydrologist, Fangfang Yao. It suggests climate change and human consumption are causing big water bodies to dry up, even in humid climates with more precipitation. According to Environment Canada, lakes in Southwestern Ontario are slowly rising — contradicting that trend.
Flooding is becoming a greater hazard across Canada, according to experts, and poses a threat to more and more homeowners. Now, with temperatures rising and snowpacks melting, the risk of flooding can be high in certain areas. Most of southern B.C. is currently under high stream flow advisories amid wet weather that Global News chief meteorologist Anthony Farnell said could last the next couple of weeks, posing a potential flood risk.
California's recent spate of epic Pacific storms has blanketed the Sierra Nevada range in a snowpack at or above record levels, state water resource officials said on Monday at a measuring station where less than 3 inches was documented last April. The bounty of mountain snow, on which California has long relied as a critical natural storehouse of fresh water during dry weather, comes as welcome relief after three years of record drought that had still gripped the state a few months ago.
Today, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, and the Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, Mayor of the City of Edmonton, announced more than $22 million in federal funding to help to reduce flood risk and damage in Edmonton. The project includes improvements that will help mitigate potential flooding hazards at the city's Gold Bar Wastewater Treatment Plant. Three new backwater prevention outfall gates will prevent river water from flowing back into the wastewater treatment plant during storm events, and a flood barrier along the northern edge of the plant will minimize flooding risks.
Even though northwestern Ontario is drying up after a wet start to spring, officials are still watching the watersheds for potential flood risks. Lakehead Region Conservation Authority in Thunder Bay has downgraded its outlook from a flood watch to a conditions statement after area rivers and streams have reached their peak earlier this week. Still it's too early for people to let their guard down.
