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.
Dawn Stewart said she’d never encountered the foul flavour of her home’s tap water until she filled up a glass a few weeks ago. “It was disgusting and I said ‘does it taste like there’s dirt in it?'” “I ran the water for a bit and it was worse — even when I’ve got soap in it, it still has that musty odour.” With no water filters in her Royal Oak home, Stewart said the water’s earthy flavour is a disincentive to drinking it. And initially, she wondered if consuming it posed a health risk.
