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.
Every home and business connected to the City of Winnipeg water supply could get a new water meter over the next few years, if the city approves a program to install more advanced metering systems. There are more than 200,000 existing meters in the city, 60 per cent of which are past or nearing the end of their service life, according to a new report to the water and waste committee.
The City of Moose Jaw is hoping for full compliance when it begins installing new smart water meters in homes starting this October. The project will see over 12,000 meters replaced over two years with smart meters that can be read remotely and give more accurate readings. The city has hired Neptune Technology Group Canada to do the installations. “My own involvement in working with Neptune is that they are a well-positioned company to do this work, and they've seen it all before. They haven't been surprised by any of the questions that we've posted to date,” said Director of Engineering Bevin Harlton. They will have four installers working weekly, averaging 160 installations per week and 640 installations per month. The installations will come at no extra cost to the homeowner.
