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.
high-capacity irrigation wells
Officials with P.E.I.'s Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action laid out a bare-bones plan Thursday for how water could be shared among various users — including farmers — once the province's moratorium on new high-capacity irrigation wells ends. The King government quietly signalled the end of the 19-year moratorium earlier this month, introducing changes to regulations under the Water Act that could be implemented in September.
Nineteen years after the PC government of Pat Binns brought in a moratorium on new high-capacity irrigation wells, the P.E.I. government of Dennis King signalled Thursday that moratorium will soon come to an end. P.E.I.'s much-debated new Water Act and accompanying water withdrawal regulations will come into effect next Wednesday, June 16, a written release issued Thursday by the province said.
P.E.I.'s Environment Minister Steven Myers says the province has all the data it needs to end the province's 19-year moratorium on high capacity irrigation wells, and says the moratorium won't be needed once the province's Water Act comes into effect June 16. That comes after 19 years of successive P.E.I. governments — including that of current Premier Dennis King — saying they needed more research in order to decide what to do with the moratorium.
