Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

lake

Drought reveals cracks in Canada-U.S. Columbia River Treaty as B.C. lake dries up

Drought reveals cracks in Canada-U.S. Columbia River Treaty as B.C. lake dries up

Drought is part of the reason. But so too is the Columbia River Treaty with the United States that obligates B.C. to direct water from the reservoir across the border at American behest. The grim scenes described by Youmans illustrate the stakes in ongoing talks between Canadian and U.S. negotiators to modernize the 62-year-old treaty, as the increased risk of extreme weather weighs on both sides. Part of the treaty that gives the United States direct control over a portion of the water in Arrow Lakes Reservoir and two other B.C. dams is set to expire in September 2024.

TIFF 2023 'Boil Alert': Urgency of North America's water crisis exposed though a journey of identity

TIFF 2023 'Boil Alert': Urgency of North America's water crisis exposed though a journey of identity

"You're going to see the injustice with the water, you're going to feel it without us having to sit down with David Suzuki and tell you how it happened, or why. ... You're going to figure that out by the human interaction between these people telling you their stories, and Layla learned about her own story."

Efforts underway to save salmon trapped in B.C. lake due to drought

Efforts underway to save salmon trapped in B.C. lake due to drought

Biologists are lending a helping hand to salmon in the B.C. interior that are struggling to make it to their spawning grounds due to severe drought conditions. Jason Hwang, vice-president of salmon with the Pacific Salmon Foundation, has joined Sarah Ostoforoff, a habitat restoration biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, at Kamloops Lake to reconnect it with Tranquille Creek so pink salmon currently trapped in the lake can start their spawning journey.

Boil Water Notice – Rural Water Districts 8 and 9

Boil Water Notice – Rural Water Districts 8 and 9

This is a reminder to Rural Water Districts 8 & 9 that a boil water advisory exists for the properties highlighted below. If you received a letter from the Town of Osoyoos in April 2023, it is still in effect. Any changes to this status will be communicated by letter to users when it is lifted. The agricultural irrigation district receives its water supply directly from the lake with limited treatment during this time. This advisory is to mitigate the risk of potential bacteria. Any questions can be directed to Operational Services at (250) 495.6213.

Saving nature: WWF study highlights the best places for ecological restoration in Canada

Saving nature: WWF study highlights the best places for ecological restoration in Canada

Snider says that means that restoring those areas have direct benefits for people, such as protecting water supplies, providing clean air and preventing floods. "It's not only those people that live directly adjacent to those areas that benefit from having those natural areas, but more broadly the people that live, you know, throughout the region," Snider said.

Halifax-area beach closed because of toxin-producing algae bloom in lake

Halifax-area beach closed because of toxin-producing algae bloom in lake

Municipal officials in the Halifax area have closed a popular lakeside beach after the discovery of a toxin-producing blue-green algae bloom. The beach at Springfield Lake in Middle Sackville closed Saturday.

Come on in, the water’s fine: Sask. lake shakes off the algae

Come on in, the water’s fine: Sask. lake shakes off the algae

In July, 2022, an SHA notice posted on the resort village’s Facebook page warned people to avoid swimming or skiing and to keep children and pets away from the water. The village later levels of toxic blue-green algae were 600 times higher than recommended for public recreation. This year, it’s a different story. “We don’t have any issues in terms of blue-green algae and E. coli,” said Mattick. “So it’s good for swimming or whatever you want to do.”

Ontario bans 'floating homes' from overnight stays on lakes

Ontario bans 'floating homes' from overnight stays on lakes

The province's ban will prohibit the floating homes from staying overnight on public waterways. The restrictions will take effect on July 1, according to a regulation posted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. The ban will only apply to what the province calls "floating accommodations," defined in the regulation as floating structures designed primarily for residential purposes and not primarily for navigation. Sailboats, houseboats, cabin cruisers or other traditional watercraft are not prohibited from overnight stays.

Hidden Beneath the Surface

Hidden Beneath the Surface

In just seven decades, the scientists say, humans have brought about greater changes than they did in more than seven millennia. Never in Earth’s history has the world changed this much, this fast. Never has a single species had the capacity to wreak so much damage — or the chance to prevent so much harm. “It’s a line in the sand,” said Francine McCarthy, a professor of Earth sciences at Brock University in Ontario, who has led research on Crawford Lake. “The Earth itself is playing by a different rule book. And it’s because of us.”

4,000 square kilometres of land has burned near Sambaa K'e. What does that mean for fish?

4,000 square kilometres of land has burned near Sambaa K'e. What does that mean for fish?

After a wildfire tore through the forest around Kakisa, N.W.T., in 2014, Lloyd Chicot began noticing changes in the lake: the pickerel grew fatter, and the pelicans moved in. Chicot, the chief of Ka'a'gee Tu First Nation, attributes the change partly to climate change and partly to runoff from the fire, which brought nutrients and debris into the lake. "Right after the fire, there was a lot of burnt driftwood and that kind of stuff," he recalled.

Canadian lake named one of the best spots to see clearest water on Earth (PHOTOS)

Canadian lake named one of the best spots to see clearest water on Earth (PHOTOS)

Canada has plenty of natural wonders, and one lake nestled in the Alberta Rockies has been named one of the best places to see the clearest water in the world. The gem-colored lake is about an hour’s drive from the Banff townsite and about a two-hour drive from the Jasper townsite to its north. The lake and Peyto Glacier were named after Bill Peyto who was a renowned mountain guide and pioneer in Banff. You can hike for around 10 minutes to the viewpoint to take pictures of the stunning lake.

Parks Canada monitoring for zebra mussels

Parks Canada monitoring for zebra mussels

Parks Canada says genetic traces of zebra mussels found in a recent water sample taken from Clear Lake aren’t cause for undue concern. Although tests for environmental DNA for the invasive species came back positive last month, it could have come to the lake on a boat, water toy or other source, without the transfer of any living mussels. Living organisms like zebra mussels, which originated from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine and were introduced to many countries worldwide in the 1980s, shed DNA all the time, says Borden Smid, resource conservation manager with Parks Canada.

'We're designing a fully sustainable environment': Ontario Place redesign boasts beach, spa, garden and new wetlands

'We're designing a fully sustainable environment': Ontario Place redesign boasts beach, spa, garden and new wetlands

The team working behind the controversial development of Toronto’s historic Ontario Place site insist the project is for the greater good of the city, and will resort and revitalize parts of the landscape that are crumbling apart. The proposed development will include an indoor water park and botanical garden, as well as a large parking lot. Critics are unhappy that the privately owned spa is being built on public land, in part with taxpayer’s dollars.

Tanker hauling beef fat falls into Kingston, Ont. area lake

Tanker hauling beef fat falls into Kingston, Ont. area lake

Residents were seen checking out the damage on Buck Lake early Thursday morning, the day after a tanker truck hauling edible beef fat rolled into the body of water. The truck was driving on Perth Road near Hilltop Lane Wednesday when it fell into the western basin of Buck Lake in South Frontenac Township, Ont. The Ministry of Environment assessed the damage that same day, along with any possible environmental concerns.

Its largest lake is so dry, China digs deep to water crops

Its largest lake is so dry, China digs deep to water crops

With China's biggest freshwater lake reduced to just 25 per cent of its usual size by a severe drought, work crews are digging trenches to keep water flowing to one of the country's key rice-growing regions. The dramatic decline of Poyang Lake in the landlocked southeastern province of Jiangxi had otherwise cut off irrigation channels to nearby farmlands. The crews, using excavators to dig trenches, only work after dark because of the extreme daytime heat, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Fall River residents worried about sewage from new seniors housing development

Fall River residents worried about sewage from new seniors housing development

Residents of a small community in the Halifax area are upset that they weren't consulted about a new seniors housing complex pumping treated sewage into the lake from which they draw their drinking water. The proposed "age-in-place campus," which includes four apartment buildings and a long-term care facility, is expected to be built at 1109 Fall River Rd., with wastewater from the planned on-site treatment facility being piped underground to the middle of Lake Thomas.

These invasive jellyfish are the size of a thumbnail — and they're making a new home in B.C.

These invasive jellyfish are the size of a thumbnail — and they're making a new home in B.C.

The next time you dip your toes into a lake in British Columbia, you might want to take a closer look at the water. That's because an invasive species of jellyfish believed to be native to southeast China, Craspedacusta sowerbii, is making a new home for itself in B.C.'s freshwaters. "We know they are there. We know they are potentially widespread. But before we go a step further, we need to know what they do and then we can talk about that," said Florian Lüskow, a University of British Columbia PhD candidate and researcher.

The future is now for Trout Lake

The future is now for Trout Lake

A new watershed study and management plan is in the works for Trout Lake. Recently, East Ferris and North Bay held open houses to provide information on the project and hear feedback from residents who have questions or concerns about the lake. Members of the Trout Lake Conservation Association (TLCA) attended the North Bay open house, which was held in the atrium of City Hall on March 13 and had an opportunity to share their concerns about the lake’s future.

Companies fined after beaver dam removal floods Nesslin Lake in northern Sask.

Companies fined after beaver dam removal floods Nesslin Lake in northern Sask.

Two forestry companies and a contractor have been fined for their roles in 2019 road repairs gone wrong that led to flooding in a northern Saskatchewan lake, the province says. A track hoe was used to remove a beaver dam during road repairs in July 2019 near Nesslin Lake, about 200 kilometres north of Saskatoon, the province said in a Friday news release. Water and other sediment leaked into a creek before flowing south into the lake, causing water levels to rise quickly and resulting in flooding.

Nakusp council, February 28: Water use rules laid out in bylaw refresh

Nakusp council, February 28: Water use rules laid out in bylaw refresh

Private home project approved for waterfront The setback changes a private developer wants to build a home on the waterfront next to the Leland Hotel was approved by council at its February 28 meeting. Jeff and Halee Fried want to build a one-storey, mid-century-style wood- and glass-fronted private home facing the lake on the downtown property, located on 4th Avenue across from the historic hotel. They asked to be allowed to reduce the setback along a side alley to 1.5 metres for a garage, and to reduce the setback for the side of the house facing the Leland to five metres from six.

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