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 New Brunswick filmmaker is diving into his passion by producing an under-water film to draw attention to the quality of rivers across Canada. Shelley Steeves has more as Harrison Burton hopes his film will encourage all levels of government to invest more in studying Canada’s vast number of freshwater lakes.
Living Lakes says these meetings will be interactive sessions where participants can provide feedback on local water concerns and monitoring priorities and ask questions about the project. “Through this project we are collaborating with local groups to expand our water monitoring network so we can work with communities and all levels of government to protect our watersheds,” said co-ordinator Bill Coedy in a news release.
Some water infrastructure in Port Hawkesbury will see upgrades following the announcement of $3.3 million in funding from three levels of government. The money will be used to upgrade the water supply and distribution system, including the construction of a new above-ground building and associated equipment to replace the Pitt Street water tower and the existing pressure-reducing valve vault on MacDonald Street.
Various levels of government have announced $10.5 million in joint funding for two wastewater and stormwater projects in the Canning region of Nova Scotia. The first project will support wastewater treatment and collection system upgrades in the Municipality of the County of Kings where the wastewater treatment facility will be improved to increase capacity and accommodate future growth, a Dec. 22 release explained.
David Jensen has lived in Keswick Ridge since 2004 and has spent the last 18 years trying to get someone to fix a ditch that's been leaking water into his backyard. He has high hopes for Monday. He finally has the chance to vote for a mayor and council who might listen — and solve a problem neglected by other levels of government. "I feel good about it," he said of the municipal election being held in the new Central York Rural Community. "With a mayor or something, I might be able to talk to him and maybe get something done because it affects me, but it also affects the neighbour below me, the neighbour below that, and the neighbour below that, right?"
