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 morning, Sherri Anderson, checks the tapwater in her Botwood home to see if it's clear. More often than not, she says, it isn't. "When it's not, my husband runs the hose outside and lets the water run for hours, sometimes more than a day, until the water is clear," she told CBC News in a recent interview. Those were the instructions she received from the town council.
The Whiskey Creek Water Service Area is scheduled for a much-needed upgrade to meet Island Health’s requirement deadline. The facility has been under notice from Island Health to address deficiencies in the water supply since 2013. The water supply system to Whiskey Creek has required improvement since 2012. In 2021, the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) commissioned a new groundwater source, but due to lack of funds, a temporary overland transmission water main and portable diesel-powered electric generator as a power source were installed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared to walk back his government’s promise to end all water-boil advisories in First Nations communities by March 2021. Pressed by reporters Friday, Trudeau wouldn’t commit to meeting the 2021 deadline and said the federal government was working to lift the remaining drinking water advisories “as soon as possible.”
