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.
Nancy Basinger says she saw little ripples of movement inside a bucket of water from her bathroom, and she almost couldn't believe her eyes. The downtown Windsor, Ont., tenant says she immediately called over a friend to take a look at what she thought were little tiny fish swimming in her water. But she says she's since had them identified by a researcher as crustaceans — aquatic invertebrates known as amphipods.
David Galvin's water is running for the first time in nearly three months. The long-awaited repairs to pipes at 1083 Main St. E. in Hamilton began last week. While the water is icy cold, with the hot water not yet connected, Galvin said it's proof of what the tenants have been insisting since late December — the work could be done in a matter of days without anyone having to move out.
For 57 days David Galvin has had no running water in his Hamilton apartment. He said he hasn't been able to shower there or properly clean his home since the water was shut off Dec. 28. "I'm emotionally and physically debilitated from the stress," Galvin told CBC Hamilton. "I can't sleep. My guts are all out of order." He's lost hope the water will be turned back on anytime soon — for him or the other tenants who have lived there for years, he said.
Residents living without water at a derelict Hamilton apartment building for nearly two months were hoping for relief. Instead, the city has sold them “down the proverbial river,” argues a longtime tenant of 1083 Main St. E. “I’m surprised. I’m appalled. I’m disbelieving. I’m in shock,” David Galvin said Tuesday.
In the fall of 2021, 45 Humboldt homeowners of century-old properties participated in a city initiative to test for lead – but that doesn’t necessarily mean renters were told. These numbers were discussed at Humboldt council during their regular meeting on Jan. 24, where council voted on expanding the program for a further two-year term testing 622 century-old properties. All affected property owners from the 2021 testing were notified of the results along with information about guidelines, contact information to discuss full replacement of the pipe as well as noting that filters exist to address the issue in the short term. However, the homeowner is not obligated to inform the person living there.
