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.
Stinky water flowing through Gore Park's majestic fountain is unfortunate, but not unusual, say Hamilton residents who stop by regularly. On Monday, the fountain that marks a central spot in Hamilton's downtown was full of greenish-tinged water with bubbles of butter-yellow foam floating on top. "It kind of smells like rotten fish," said Raj Verma, who stood a distance away.
"The local improvement proposed herein involves the renewal of water lines within the L.U.D. (local urban district) of Rapid City," the notice said. It went on to outline the total costs of water main renewals at $7,623,500.00. Federal and provincial funding will pay for more than half of that amount, leaving $2,836,807.25 for taxpayers.
Most of Canada’s water infrastructure was built between the 1950s and 1970s, and today, Over 30% of drinking water and wastewater infrastructure is in a precarious state due to lack of maintenance. Tackling this aging infrastructure will require significant public investment, especially in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta, which will create great business opportunities. Furthermore, the slow progress of digitization in Canada also opens up opportunities for Spanish technology companies.
BBGI Global Infrastructure S.A. has completed an investment in InPower BC General Partnership, the entity responsible for delivering the John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project in Canada. The company said it made the CA$41 million investment through its existing strategic partnership with SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. The public-private partnership project consisted of the design, construction, financing, maintenance and rehabilitation of a new three-turbine, 132MW hydroelectric power generation station on the Campbell River, British Columbia, including a three generating unit underground powerhouse, 2.1 km of water passage tunnels and a water bypass system to protect downstream fish habitat. The new infrastructure replaces the outdated above ground facilities which were built in 1947 with a more reliable, seismically robust and environmentally friendly facility. The project is Canada's first public-private partnership project in the hydropower sector.
The City of Iqaluit’s new water quality monitoring station detected measurable amounts of hydrocarbons in one of the city’s treated water tanks on Dec. 16, six days after the Government of Nunavut lifted its do-not-drink order. The city disclosed the incident in a Thursday news release that also outlines its work to ensure municipal water is safe to drink, following an eight-week emergency caused by fuel contamination of the water supply.
The NDP MPP for the region with the longest-running boil water advisories of any First Nations in Canada is demanding the Ontario government become part of the solution. Sol Mamakwa, who represents the riding of Kiiwetinoong in northwestern Ontario, said the provincial government could do more to help alleviate the suffering of communities on long-term drinking water advisories.
