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.
The City of Calgary says it has moved its drought monitoring dial to dry from normal. It says the decision is based on tracking of precipitation levels, reservoirs and lake levels, stream flow rates in the rivers and water demand. "Despite the moments of intense rainfall through July, our monitoring team continues to see impacts of this year's dry conditions across Calgary and the region," Sarah Marshall, the city's water resources planner, said in a statement.
A small gander of Canada geese swims across the water near the glory hole at Lake Berryessa Wednesday in rural Napa County. According to lake levels measured by the Solano County Water Agency, the current water level is just above 426 feet or 14 feet below the top of the spillway. The Lake Berryessa News reports that the lake has risen 32.1 feet rise since December 1 when it was at 394 feet.
Many municipalities in northwestern Ontario have been struggling with flooding for weeks, but some good news may be on the horizon. That is, if the weather cooperates. "Fortunately, June hasn't been the same as the record precipitation we saw in April and May across the region," said Matt DeWolfe, executive engineer with the Lake of the Woods Control Board, which regulates water levels on Lake of the Woods and Lac Seul.
Water levels are trending in a positive direction. Ryan Kitchen, water resources technician with the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), said water levels for Lake Ontario and Lake Erie so far in 2021 are going down and they’re below their record highs from 2019. In data provided by the Environment and Climate Change Canada, Lake Ontario in the month of February was eight centimetres below its long-term monthly average and 59 centimetres below February 2020 levels.
The Great Lakes has had a history of high water levels in the spring, posing a significant threat for flooding and shoreline erosion. So, will they be a problem again this spring? In the last 12 months, precipitation has been anywhere between 10-20 per cent below average. However, a lack of precipitation doesn't mean that the lake levels are going to drop in a "big way" immediately, says Weather Network meteorologist and Storm Hunter Mark Robinson.
