Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

pandemic

Rural municipalities want Sask. government to speed up Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project

Rural municipalities want Sask. government to speed up Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project

The Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project is expected to double the amount of irrigable land in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities wants to make sure it gets done — and soon. Last week, SARM called on the provincial government to provide an update on the state of the irrigation expansion works. "We want this project to go ahead as soon as possible," SARM president Ray Orb said. "We want to make sure that the province is dedicated to finishing these projects, and doing that on a timely basis."

United States and Canada Water and Wastewater Market Outlook 2022-2025: Focus on Adapting to Climate Change, Updating Infrastructure, and Dealing with Emerging Pollutants

United States and Canada Water and Wastewater Market Outlook 2022-2025: Focus on Adapting to Climate Change, Updating Infrastructure, and Dealing with Emerging Pollutants

This research study discusses the impact of the pandemic on the water and wastewater industry in the United States and Canada, examining the measures being taken by utilities to deal with the same. It identifies the key trends emerging in the industry and the top utilities to watch out for. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of having up-to-date water and wastewater systems and infrastructures that can provide agile responses. Municipalities and industries across North America have begun adopting net-zero, decarbonization, and circularity goals to become sustainable, resilient, and future ready.

Indigenous Life and one of the Largest Freshwater Lakes in the World

Indigenous Life and one of the Largest Freshwater Lakes in the World

Filmmaker Kevin Settee's four-part documentary series is an ode to one of the world's largest freshwater lakes and the people and communities who care for it. The series profiles the resilience and ingenuity of four Indigenous communities: Matheson Island, Poplar River First Nation, Fisher River Cree Nation and Camp Morningstar. Using an "own voices" approach, Settee connects with people who are responding to various external challenges such as climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and industrial encroachment.

Environmental group calls for tighter rules around ship dumping

Environmental group calls for tighter rules around ship dumping

As the cruise-ship season starts to ramp up along the West Coast, an environmental group is calling on the federal government to tighten its rules and raise minimum standards around vessels dumping sewage and other waste in protected marine areas. World Wildlife Fund Canada said in a report this week that all types of ships operating in Canadian waters generate — and potentially dump — 147 billion litres of operational waste each year, the equivalent of 59,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

City of Thunder Bay ramps up wastewater COVID testing as cases rise

City of Thunder Bay ramps up wastewater COVID testing as cases rise

The City of Thunder Bay is increasing its rate of testing wastewater for COVID-19 as cases of the virus in the community climb. Thunder Bay is one of a number of municipalities in the province submitting wastewater samples to labs for analysis. Water samples taken taken at the Thunder Bay's municipal pollution control plant go to the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research at the University of Windsor.

Wastewater samples can be useful tool as COVID-19 testing declines in Canada

Wastewater samples can be useful tool as COVID-19 testing declines in Canada

With some jurisdictions limiting PCR testing for COVID-19 and others increasingly overwhelmed by diagnostic demands, experts have stressed that daily case counts no longer paint the full picture of viral levels within communities. But what we flush down the toilet may give us a better understanding of COVID-19's prevalence. Researchers across the country have been undertaking wastewater surveillance since early in the pandemic, looking for trace amounts of the virus in sewage to see how it's spreading.

Surfing Santa hits the water Dec. 23 in Fort Erie

Surfing Santa hits the water Dec. 23 in Fort Erie

For nearly four decades, Fulton has been entertaining crowds with his yearly windsurfing venture, which he does dressed in full Santa garb. It was never meant to be a big event, but an accident during his inaugural run ended up making headlines around the world. “I was doing a little promotional stunt dressed as Santa when the mainline snapped, so I lost control and drifted across the river,” recalled Fulton. When he was picked up on the other side by border agents, he was asked for his passport, which of course he didn’t have since he never meant to cross the border. The story, that Santa was picked up by border guards and shipped back to Canada, made for good Christmas headline fodder for newspapers, and the legend of Surfing Santa was born.

Federal government needs to up spending to give First Nations clean water, PBO says

Federal government needs to up spending to give First Nations clean water, PBO says

The parliamentary budget officer says the federal government would need to increase planned spending to provide clean drinking water in First Nations. Yves Giroux’s report this morning says the government has set aside enough money to build water and wastewater systems over the next five years. Where the government falls short is to help First Nations operate the systems, which Giroux’s office estimates would need $138 million more annually in federal funding.

Neskantaga First Nation taking Ontario to court over 'inadequate' consultation on Ring of Fire

Neskantaga First Nation taking Ontario to court over 'inadequate' consultation on Ring of Fire

Neskantaga First Nation is taking Ontario to court looking for "ground rules" on how the province should consult and accommodate Indigenous communities that are in a state of crisis. The remote Oji-Cree First Nation, located about 430 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, has been under a boil-water advisory for 26 years and a state of emergency since 2013, when seven people died by suicide in less than a year. Those issues have been compounded by the pandemic, leaving Neskantaga ill-equipped to engage in what the province has presented as consultation on a project to build a road through its territory to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire, community leaders say.

Ready-to-drink baby formula en route to Iqaluit

Ready-to-drink baby formula en route to Iqaluit

At least 35 cases of ready-to-drink baby formula will soon be on the way to Iqaluit after an Ottawa woman arranged with Arctic Co-operatives Ltd. to get the product on a flight Friday. Claudine Santos is the director of parliamentary affairs to Nunavut Senator Dennis Patterson. She is also the president and co-founder of VIO Volunteers, a non-profit organization that was formed during the pandemic to support northern remote Indigenous communities get access to PPE and other emergency products.

Making the promised Canada Water Agency a reality

Making the promised Canada Water Agency a reality

Water has been an issue even in a pandemic, with drought, floods and lack of access. A commitment to freshwater management that values water is key. Canada is known around the world for its pristine lakes and vast water resources, but in recent months devastating effects of drought have shown that water, and our dependence on it, is under threat. Even in 2020 – a year dominated by COVID-19 – floods, droughts, melting glaciers and lack of access to drinking water made headline news in Canada. The evidence is clear – we are facing a water-insecure future with our water resources increasingly vulnerable to contamination, urbanization, changing land uses and climate change.

Calgary-based manufacturer says it's created country's first supply of 100% compostable PPE

Calgary-based manufacturer says it's created country's first supply of 100% compostable PPE

A Calgary-based company is joining up with a Winnipeg company to manufacture what they believe is the country's first 100 per cent compostable personal protective equipment (PPE)— although they're still in the process of getting it accepted at Canadian composting facilities. Calgary-based Roswell Downhole Technologies Inc., has been acquired by Precision ADM, a medical device company and global engineering and manufacturing solutions provider based in Winnipeg, the companies announced last week.

Increase in litter washing up on Canadian shorelines following the pandemic

Increase in litter washing up on Canadian shorelines following the pandemic

The annual Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup’s (GCSC) 2020 report has revealed an increase in single-use plastic food and beverage litter found on Canadian coasts — nearly doubling the amount recorded in 2019. Single-use food plastic takes up 26.6 per cent of all waste collected in this year’s program, while it only made up 15.3 per cent of the 2019 report.

Rain barrels a hot commodity as summer approaches

Rain barrels a hot commodity as summer approaches

Last year's hot, dry summer, an increased interest in home gardening, and a rising awareness of the effects of climate change have people turning to rain barrels. Macx MacNichol, owner of ECO-Containers in Dorchester, converts food-grade plastic containers into rainwater-harvesting systems ranging in size from 205 litres to 1,000 litres and priced from $45 to $205. He buys the used containers from different industries in and around Moncton. MacNichol said they've been harder to come by since the pandemic started because some of his suppliers have closed, and others aren't as busy. Coupling that with an increase in demand for his product means, "every barrel that comes in today, is spoken for tonight," said MacNichol. He said last year's dry summer got people's attention.

Region's water conservation bylaw now in effect

Region's water conservation bylaw now in effect

It's that time of year to limit your outdoor water usage. May 31 marks the first day of the conservation water bylaw for our region to conserve the water supply. Dan Meagher is the supervisor for water programs with the Region of Waterloo, and said they have already seen a spike in usage which is why they are promoting the bylaw. "It limits everyone to watering their lawns once a week and other watering activities like cleaning your cars and trees every other day and that is just for us to monitor watering demands and make sure there is enough water for everything that it is needed for." It gets put into effect every year around this time to reduce peak water use and limit the risk of an outdoor watering ban. Meagher says with the pandemic and residents staying home, they have seen an increase in water consumption.

Costs for upgrades to Winnipeg's sewage plants rise by $81.5M

Costs for upgrades to Winnipeg's sewage plants rise by $81.5M

Two major City of Winnipeg waste projects have blown past their budgets as the pandemic affects bidding and a contractor struggles to meet deadlines, according to a briefing presented to the city's finance committee on Tuesday. The city is conducting a massive upgrade of its sewage treatment system to meet the requirements of its licence under the province's Environment Act and reduce the outflow of nutrients into Lake Winnipeg. Upgrades to Winnipeg's South End sewage treatment plant have fallen behind schedule, prompting the water and waste department to estimate additional costs of $16.5 million. The total cost for the expansion and upgrades to the plant is now pegged at $335.6 million.

Alberta relaxed far more environmental rules than any other government in Canada during pandemic, study finds

Alberta relaxed far more environmental rules than any other government in Canada during pandemic, study finds

Alberta relaxed more environmental rules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic than any other government in Canada, says a study from the University of Calgary. "I didn't find any other jurisdiction that went as far as Alberta did," said Victoria Goodday, a researcher at the university's School of Public Policy. "The degree of rollbacks, they were most significant in Alberta." Goodday noticed that after the pandemic hit last spring, governments across Canada began loosening environmental restrictions.

Lack of funding for piped water on First Nations in Sask. means some on reserves can’t drink from their taps

Lack of funding for piped water on First Nations in Sask. means some on reserves can’t drink from their taps

Rebecca Zagozewski, executive director with the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, says cisterns can pose health risks to those who rely on them. She says the structures can have cracked lids, which allows all sorts of debris to get into them — including rats, mice, drowned puppies and garbage — and they’re often not cleaned properly. On top of that, she says the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association is concerned that there is no certification program for water truck drivers. The group wants to create such a program where drivers would have to be trained in how to keep the water safe and be held accountable if things go wrong. “Because right now there’s no accountability,” she says.

First Nations workers in Sask. sacrifice wages, vacation to run underfunded water systems

First Nations workers in Sask. sacrifice wages, vacation to run underfunded water systems

Rebecca Zagozewski is the executive director of the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, a non-profit organization that works to build First Nations’ capacity to take care and control of their own water services. She says recruitment and retention of water treatment plant operators is a “real problem” on Saskatchewan First Nations, largely because they often can’t pay operators competitive wages.

Neskantaga First Nation Still Doesn’t Have Clean Water

Neskantaga First Nation Still Doesn’t Have Clean Water

This past November marked 25 years since Neskantaga First Nation, located in Northwestern Ontario, was placed on a boil water advisory. In October 2020, over 250 Neskantaga residents were evacuated and transferred to a hotel in Thunder Bay after “an oily sheen was found in the Neskantaga water reservoir;” “high levels of hydrocarbons” were discovered in the water after testing. Residents were able to return after two months, but the boil water advisory remains. Chief Chris Moonias has called upon Ontario Premier Doug Ford to support Neskantaga First Nation in securing clean drinking water and properly trained water operators – Ford has yet to respond. Ending all boil-water advisories in Canada can no longer be delayed; Ford must act in accordance with the concerns of the Neskantaga First Nation immediately.

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