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.
A group of women in Pine Grove Correctional Centre are on hunger strike over alleged poor living conditions at the jail. Faith Eagle said she initially began the strike on Oct. 31 as a ceremonial fast for an inmate in the Saskatoon Correctional Centre, who she says can't visit his daughter in hospital. The fast escalated to a hunger strike against poor conditions, she said, including the quality of drinking water.
Frigid weather that has played havoc with seasonal travel plans in many other parts of Canada is now causing problems in Yukon. A portion of a wastewater treatment facility in the Village of Carmacks, about 200 kilometres north of Whitehorse, has failed as extreme cold warnings remain in place for much of the territory. A boil water advisory has been issued for residents of the village and Little Salmon Carmacks First Nation who use private wells.
A boil water advisory that was affecting between eight and 12 households in Mînî Thnî has been lifted as of Oct. 15. Indigenous Services Canada posted the boil water advisory Oct. 11 as a precautionary measure in lieu of planned maintenance at the East Morley Water Treatment Plant, separate from the main plant supplying water to the townsite. Simon Sihota, regional manager of environmental public health for Indigenous Services Canada in Alberta, said the work involved replacing older pipes and distribution headers within the treatment plant, which involved taking the water plant offline and depressurizing the system.
The Ottawa Hospital has temporarily turned off the water in certain units at its General campus after confirming a case of legionellosis. As a precautionary measure, water service was suspended the morning of Sept. 21 after a patient was diagnosed with legionellosis — the broad term for a number of diseases, including legionnaire's disease, caused by the water-borne legionella bacteria. Service was suspended Monday on floors four through eight as the water system at the campus underwent a "hyperchlorination process," the hospital said.
People living in Okotoks, a town of 30,000 just south of Calgary, are being told to stop watering their lawns and gardens, while residents in the northern part of the community are being advised to boil their drinking water because of low supply in the reservoirs. The boil water advisory from Alberta Health Services and Alberta Environment and Parks affects several neighbourhoods: D'Arcy Ranch, Crystal Shores, Crystal Green, Air Ranch, Suntree and some parts of Crystal Ridge and Sandstone.
The Municipality of Boissevain-Morton wants area residents to cut back on the amount of water they use each week. Due to high temperatures and low precipitation, water levels at Boissevain’s water source, the Boissevain Reservoir, are below normal. As a precautionary measure, the Municipality of Boissevain-Morton is asking residents and businesses to consider reducing all water usage. Specifically, they ask that residents reduce water usage for residential landscaping.
