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.
Southern Alberta farmers say consistently hot weather combined with little rain in the last few months has been devastating for their crops this year. In July 2020, Kim Owen took a photo of his father Richard Owen standing in one of their fields in Wrentham, Alta., with a crop growing above his waist. On Saturday, Kim snapped another photo of his father in the exact same spot but this time the earth was yellow and dried crops barely grazed Richard's ankles.
Residents of the regions around Belleville, Napanee, Madoc and north of Kingston, Ont., are being asked to conserve water after a dry spell resulted in low water levels. Quinte Conservation has declared a "Level 2 Low Water Condition" for the Moira, Napanee and Salmon watersheds. That means wells have water levels below normal for this time of year, and with warm temperatures and little rain in the forecast, levels could drop further, leading to serious water supply issue in the region.
