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.
The North Saskatchewan River looks less like chocolate milk than usual. The clear, aquamarine waters have revealed hidden sandbars, darting fish, submerged shopping carts — and a flood of questions from Edmontonians seeking clarity on the colour change. The river, which starts at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields in Alberta and flows through to central Saskatchewan, is usually a murky brown by the time it reaches Edmonton in summer.
