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 town west of Calgary says it continues to truck in water from other communities to maintain its required levels. The Town of Cochrane has declared a local state of emergency after an accident Saturday affected its water and wastewater pipelines, causing sewage to flow into the Bow River. Officials in both Cochrane and Calgary, which draw water from the river, say the drinking water remains safe.
Calgary officials are monitoring the city’s water supply following a sewer pipe leak in a municipality upstream on the Bow River, but the city says its tap water remains safe to drink. Alberta issued a biological hazard advisory late Saturday, stating a main sewer line break within the Town of Cochrane was causing an overland sewage discharge into the Bow at a bridge along Highway 22.
