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.
It confirmed this week that legionella had been detected in three cooling towers at the building, and the air-conditioning system was shut down Wednesday. Tests came back negative after the system was shock-cleaned with chlorine, said a followup note to staff Friday, also obtained by Radio-Canada. The temperatures on the three days when the air conditioning was off ranged from about 27 C to 32 C in Bathurst, according to Environment Canada. Drinking water at the hospital also tested negative, according to the second message to hospital staff.
Western Quebec's health authority is investigating six cases of legionellosis that were recently reported in the region. So far, health officials have been unable to identify the source of the contamination, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais (CISSSO) said in a Friday news release. Legionellosis is the broad term for a number of diseases, including legionnaires' disease, caused by the water-borne legionella bacteria.
An outbreak of legionnaires' disease is responsible for the deaths of two people in east-end Montreal, according to public health officials. At a news conference Wednesday, officials said they have identified 10 cases of the disease since mid-June, including the deaths of two people over the age of 65. The area of concern is bordered by Pie-IX Boulevard to the west, Highway 25 to the east, Highway 40 to the north and the Saint-Lawrence River to the south.
Patients and staff at Salt Spring Island's sole hospital are still relying on bottled water, months after legionella bacteria was detected in the facility's water system. Island Health advised against using the water at Lady Minto Hospital for drinking or bathing in March, when routine testing showed low levels of the bacteria were present.
