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.
It’s something we use everyday — couldn’t survive without, actually — and often take for granted. Yet freshwater could run out by 2040 at our current rate of consumption, says a report by BofA Global Research. “Some 75 per cent of our planet is covered with water, yet less than 1 per cent is usable, and even this is depleting quickly,” said BofA equity strategists led by Haim Israel.
How much water does the average Montrealer use every day in their home? Enough to fill two bathtubs. That’s 225 L of clean water. The province-wide average is even bigger, at 400 L per person every day, according to McGill University. How much fresh water do private industries use per year? About 10 times household use, Statistics Canada notes. Most of our household water use comes from addressing basic physical needs. 65 per cent comes from toilet flushing and bathing. The rest is accounted for in our drinking, preparing meals, and cleaning (including laundry).
