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.
Angie Kane knows how important well water is when you live in the heart of dry, rural B.C. For 17 years, she lived on a ranch outside Clinton, a semi-desert village about 120 kilometres northwest of Kamloops. Many residents who live outside municipal boundaries draw water from aquifers. For Kane, the arid climate always kept the importance of her water supply top of mind. "That is the biggest concern, for anyone who has a well, is will it dry up? Or will it go away?" she told CBC News.
Drought is impacting the agriculture sector across Canada but the brunt of the dry weather is being felt in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where moisture levels have been low since last fall. Moisture levels have improved in B.C. and Alberta, where there’s been more precipitation and snowpack. Ontario has received about half of the precipitation expected at this time of the year.
