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.
The drinking water supply in the city of Cambridge has higher levels of sodium than recommended by Health Canada according to regular water quality reports taken by the region. The Region of Waterloo website states that regular sodium levels in drinking water should be below 20 mg/L. Anything higher must be reported to public health. A major cause of the increase is the way roads are treated and the type of salt that is used over the winter months. It's an issue the region is working on.
