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.
Three no-swimming advisories at Parlee Beach due to high fecal bacteria were issued this week, bringing the total to 13 so far this summer. The advisories were issued because E. coli and enterococcus bacteria counts exceeded Canadian recreational water quality guidelines at the provincial park east of Shediac, N.B. Barb Leck, who has a cottage in nearby Pointe-du-Chêne, has been coming to the beach each summer.
Manitoba officials want Grand Beach Lagoon and Lake Winnipeg to go with the flow. Crews have begun work to help improve water flow between the two. “Grand Beach is one of Manitoba’s top destinations and we want to preserve this beautiful provincial park and its unique features for future generations to enjoy,” said Jeff Wharton, climate, environment and parks minister in a statement. “For more than a decade, low channel levels between the Grand Beach Lagoon and Lake Winnipeg have been a concern for many cottagers, park visitors and boaters. This important and strategic investment in Grand Beach Provincial Park further demonstrates our government’s commitment to protecting and enhancing Manitoba’s provincial parks system.”
The clear waves of New Brunswick's Murray Beach Provincial Park draw crowds of swimmers each summer, yet it's located metres away from the campground's sewage lagoon. With the park closed for the season, a project is underway to have tubes and pipes flush that wastewater directly into a marsh. Nearby residents of Murray Corner, about 50 minutes southeast of Moncton, have been questioning the work and worry it could contaminate wells and flow into the ocean.
