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.
To continue improving water quality in the Red River basin, including downstream in Lake Winnipeg, the governments of Canada and the United States approved four additional water quality objectives to be monitored by the International Red River Watershed Board (IRRWB) following a recommendation by the International Joint Commission (IJC). These additional, non-regulatory water quality objectives are for the key nutrients phosphorus and nitrogen.
If you have a camera and a thermometer you can help contribute to lake stewardship in Canada. Canada has experienced heatwaves, droughts and wildfires which have also taken a toll on the two million lakes in our country. Living Lakes Canada is recruiting volunteers who are able to track the impacts of climate change on our lakes. In order to get the most accurate information the data needs to be collected over multiple years, and many of the two million lakes in Canada aren't monitored. That's where you come in. Living Lakes Canada is asking people to sign up to monitor their favourite lakes this summer as part of the second annual National Lake Blitz.
This is the first of four articles submitted by Living Lakes Canada (LLC), the respected Columbia Basin-based water stewardship group that works to monitor and protect Canada’s lakes, rivers, wetlands, and watersheds. After a record-breaking summer of heat, drought, and fires, experts in the Columbia Basin are stressing the importance of water monitoring and watershed management to secure our water supplies.
Spotty research and inconsistent monitoring have made it impossible to evaluate the health of most Canadian watersheds, a study has found. “It’s still largely unknown,” said Elizabeth Hendricks of the World Wildlife Fund, which has just released its second evaluation of the condition of Canada’s freshwater environments. Hendricks said the report points to the need for standardized, national water monitoring done by local communities.
ONEIDA NATION OF THE THAMES — Jennifer George’s home sits on a gravel road that separates this Indigenous community near London, Ont., from the neighbouring township of Southwold. On George’s side of the road, virtually no one trusts the drinking water that flows from the Thames River to their homes. Many have the same 18-litre blue jugs that line the floor of George’s kitchen, ubiquitous sources of water for drinking and cooking.
