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.
A tap in the basement of Winnipeg City Hall has been deliberately left running for nearly as long as the COVID-19 pandemic has lasted in Manitoba. Coun. Shawn Nason (Transcona) raised the issue of the flowing faucet at Thursday's council meeting, saying it has poured the equivalent of three Olympic-sized swimming pools down the drain. "If a 50-year-old building requires taps to be on 24 hours a day, we have some serious issues," Nason told reporters after the city council meeting.
Back in the U.S., Michigan officials have warned residents in the city of Benton Harbor not to use tap water for drinking, cooking or brushing their teeth due to lead contamination. The city’s tap water was found to contain lead levels up to 60 times the federal limit as early as 2018. That’s higher than the contamination of Flint’s tap during its water crisis. Advocates are calling for officials to declare a state of emergency and for the EPA to intervene. The population of Benton Harbor is 85% Black, and nearly half of its residents are poor.
Water samples taken at four public schools in Ontario, Canada, from June 2021 show lead levels are higher than the national safety guideline. The schools are Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, Stewart Avenue Public School, John Darling Public School and Elmira District Secondary School, reported The Waterloo Regional Record. Water samples taken June 9 to 10 at KCI showed levels of lead in two drinking fountains were higher than provincial targets, according to the principal in a letter, reported The Waterloo Regional Record. Tests at John Darling school on June 11 found one tap water fountain to exceed lead targets.
