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.
Bottled water will be made available to "vulnerable populations" in Wheatley and Tilbury this week as a boil water advisory for the municipality stretches on following a fire last week. In a release, the municipality said the water will be distributed for free through the Wheatley Resource Centre and Tilbury Food Bank.
Wheatley's water treatment plant might not to be return to normal operations for a year or more, but a boil-water advisory isn't expected to last that long, officials said Wednesday. The communities of Wheatley and Tilbury in Chatham-Kent have been under a boil-water advisory for a week after fire caused damage to the water treatment facility.
The province has confirmed water of poor quality flowing through the Nooksack River in Washington state is coming from multiple sources in B.C. This comes a month after Washington farmers and officials called upon B.C. to investigate and address high levels of fecal bacteria coming from the Canadian side of the border. A joint letter sent in June from the Whatcom Family Farmers and the North Lynden Watershed Improvement District addressed to B.C. Premier David Eby and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said routine water quality testing done by Whatcom County and the state's agriculture department found bacteria at levels over 200 times higher than the water quality standard.
Authorities in a Western Japan city are investigating to determine how the water of a river that runs through the town has turned lime green. It’s caused great concern among citizens, but officials have run a test on the water and said it’s non-toxic. However, farmers have still been asked to avoid using it for agricultural purposes until safety is confirmed.
Japan is set to win approval to discharge more than a million cubic meters of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear disaster site into the Pacific Ocean, a contentious plan that’s soured ties with neighbors including China. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi will visit Japan from Tuesday to deliver a final report on the safety of the process and meet with officials including Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi. A domestic nuclear regulator is also set to issue a crucial assessment.
Washington state officials and farmers are calling on the British Columbia government to act on water quality reports that show large amounts of bacteria are flowing from north of the border into the Nooksack River watershed. They say high levels of fecal coliform — of which E. coli is a subgroup — are flowing from a Fraser Valley creek into Pepin Creek in Washington before entering the Nooksack, which empties into the sea near shellfish beds owned by the Lummi Nation.
Canadian and U.S. officials have wrapped up the latest round in a five-year negotiation to modernize a major treaty on flood control and power generation on the Columbia River. Global Affairs Canada says negotiators from both countries in the Columbia River Treaty met in Kelowna on May 16 and 17, and the next round of talks is scheduled for Aug. 10 and 11 in Seattle.
While 2022 was the driest year since water bottling companies began monitoring, BlueTriton consultants and officials maintained the company’s water taking for bottling purposes is sustainable. BlueTriton, the conglomerate who purchased Nestle Waters Canada’s operations in 2021, held a sparsely-attended in-person meeting Thursday morning at the Puslinch Community Centre going over 2022 annual monitoring reports for its wells in Aberfoyle and Erin where it has permits to take water for bottling purposes.
An update to the process of updating a 100-year-old water treaty on the Milk and St. Mary’s rivers will be given in early May, officials have announced. Two years ago the International St. Mary and Milk Rivers Study Board began reviewing the Canada-U.S. Agreement, which has been in place since 1921. It aims to update the pact, look at options to “improve access to apportionment,” and mitigate the potential effect of climate change on water supply.
A boil-water advisory for part of Cornwall, P.E.I., has been lifted, officials say. The order was put in place for dozens of homes in Chateau Estates and houses on Lakeview Drive this week. In a statement, Doug Longmoore, Cornwall's infrastructure manager, said water samples taken by the province on Friday came back clear. Residents may now use tap water as usual.
Windsor city officials are calling on the federal government to help with the rising costs of flooding mitigation projects in Windsor's east end. Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens, Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac and Windsor West MP Brian Masse want the federal government to invest money in the city's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) for city sewers and water projects as part of Windsor's flooding and sewer master plan.
Oneida Nation of the Thames officials have announced the cancellation of a conserve water alert in the First Nation, after a serious water shortage was first announced on Dec. 16, followed by the declaration of a state of emergency on Dec. 20. Oneida Nation, located just southwest of London, Ont., originally declared a conserve water alert due to the effect of extreme weather conditions on the First Nation's water supply. This put residents under an order to limit water use with the water reserve in the community's water tower, the primary source of water for the 546 homes and 22 buildings in the territory, at all-time low levels.
Officials on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast have approved another extension of the state of local emergency declared last month as an intense summer drought and little rain have nearly exhausted a key watershed. The Sunshine Coast Regional District says the state of local emergency, declared jointly with the District of Sechelt and shíshálh Nation, will now remain in effect until at least Nov. 21.
A brief power outage there resulted in pressure changes at Wallaceburg’s water treatment plant that caused a break in a key watermain. That disruption prompted Chatham-Kent public health to issue a boil water advisory for Wallaceburg while students at the town’s high schools and elementary schools were sent home. Crews were working to repair the collapsed tower, Collie said. The electricity stayed on for Bluewater Power’s customers in Sarnia, but they still may have noticed “a couple dims of their lights” during the morning, McMichael-Dennis said.
After years of protest, a pesticide has been released in the Miramichi watershed as part of a project to eradicate the invasive smallmouth bass. Salmon conservation groups confirm Sept. 8 marked the first application of Noxfish II, a chemical that includes rotenone. It was released in Lake Brook and approximately 15 kilometres of the Southwest Miramichi River.
Hamilton public health is warning residents to avoid all contact with water near Pier 4 in the city's harbour after discovering a toxic blue-green algae. In a media release Wednesday, officials suggested the following tips to avoid potential health risks: Avoid all contact with the water at the beach. If you do come into contact with water, rinse off as soon as possible with clean water. Both people and pets should not swim or wade in the water anywhere the algae is visible. The algae, also known as cyanobacteria, forms in shallow, warm, slow-moving water, according to public health.
Individuals posing as City of Toronto staff have attempted to enter homes and gather personal information, the City warned Wednesday. In posts on Twitter, the City said it has been notified that people are posing as Toronto Water staff. The post noted that staff are currently conducting testing in the sewer system to identify defects. But officials said staff don’t need to enter homes to do the work and would never ask for personal information.
Halifax Regional Municipality is warning residents that Chocolate Lake beach is closed due to high levels of bacteria in the water. Officials say the beach is closed to swimming until further notice. Recent municipal testing shows levels of bacteria in the water exceeding Health Canada swimming guidelines. Officials say high bacteria levels can be caused by a variety of factors, including dogs, birds, other wildlife and high temperatures.
The Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership has officially launched a new initiative titled the Knowledge Basket. It will provide resources to communities and officials involved with Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs). These are lands and waters where Indigenous governments have the primary role in protecting and conserving ecosystems. “Indigenous governments are at the forefront of protecting the largest, healthiest and most biodiverse areas across Canada,” said Steven Nitah, a core member of the Indigenous Circle of experts who helped develop the Knowledge Basket database.
Though this week's storm has already led to widespread power outages, fallen trees and water pooling on city streets, city officials say they believe they're well-equipped to handle whatever the next few days bring. The city remains under a state of local emergency called on Monday. While the Environment Canada rainfall warning for Calgary ended on Wednesday, the weather alerts remain in place for a swath of southern and central Alberta north, east and south of Calgary.
