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.
Greater Sudbury has the oldest system of underground water pipes among similar cities in Canada, according to a new report headed to a city committee next week. While overall leakage rates are about average in Sudbury, in the Levack area it was 47 per cent, meaning almost half of the drinking water processed in the area was being lost. More recently, a very large leak was uncovered in the Levack system that was largely responsible for the problem.
The City of Montreal is accelerating its plan to replace lead pipes in the water system. It's acting now, based on new recommendations from Health Canada and the results of recent studies. Lead exposure can cause neurological and developmental problems in children, and increase blood pressure or cause kidney problems in adults.
