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.
There is mixed reaction in the farming community to a new Prince Edward Island irrigation strategy. Last week, the province ended its 20-year moratorium on high-capacity wells for agriculture. The high-capacity wells can draw as much as 500 gallons of water per minute, and concern was raised about the effect they have on the Island's groundwater levels. Starting June 11, farmers can apply to the provincial government for a licence to drill a high-capacity well to water their crops.
Non-profit water stewardship organization Living Lakes Canada (LLC) says that the hot, smoky and dry conditions experienced throughout the Columbia Basin over the past summer aren’t the only indicators of accelerated climate change, and that low groundwater levels have also shown a decrease in some aquifers from last year to now. Groundwater data is obtained from aquifers LLC monitors as part of their Columbia Basin Groundwater Monitoring Program. An aquifer is an underground layer of broken rock, gravel, sand or silt that contains groundwater.
Recent rain on B.C.'s South Coast has not alleviated the region's worsening drought conditions, according to the provincial forest ministry. Most of the central and southern parts of the province are now facing drought after multiple weeks without consistent rainfall, leading to lower groundwater levels and warmer river temperatures. Though the South Coast had a temporary reprieve with scattered showers over the weekend, another punishing heat wave this week is expected to make the conditions worse.
