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.
Rodrigo Silva de Paula calls himself a "water man": he spends about 330 days a year in the ocean teaching paddle boarding. But high E. coli levels in some of Vancouver's beaches are testing his patience. "It is frustrating because it is not the first time it has happened," said the 44-year-old who lives in Vancouver. Silva de Paula is one of many residents calling on the city to do more to keep beaches safe from the bacteria.
The Timmins flood advisory committee issued a flood watch Tuesday for the Mattagami River. "The committee reports that the most recent streamflow information for the Mattagami River watershed shows that the elevation of many area rivers and streams are still rising in response to the recent precipitation and continued snowmelt," the group said in a news release.
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland last week, world leaders announced that water stewardship and climate action must be coordinated to stop the deterioration of the natural environment, which means caring for our local water sources is essential. Columbia Basin lakes could arguably be considered the heart of many communities. Lakes provide clean drinking water, endless recreational options for tourism, and economic value through lake foreshore property values. Lakes and their surrounding foreshore are also highly sensitive to climate and respond rapidly to change.
