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.
Each year heading into spring melt, B.C. tries its best to predict how much water will runoff into Okanagan Lake and other water bodies in the province. It’s important information as the provincial government manages the lake level using a dam in Penticton and has to strike the right balance to ensure sufficient water in the lake to last through the hot and dry summer, but not so much it causes flooding.
In early winter, Tlingit trappers near Teslin, Yukon, observed something out on the land that stoked serious concern: the snow was unusually deep. Before long, they relayed the message to the Teslin Tlingit Council. "They said we're going to have a problem here with flooding," said Chief Eric Morris. "They couldn't even get to their traplines." Fast forward to June and a flood warning was issued for the community, followed by an evacuation alert for certain parts of it. The water rose so high it surpassed last year's record-breaking flood levels by roughly one metre.
