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.
Halifax Water says emergency repairs have been completed on a Duffus Street wastewater pump station in Halifax. In a release Thursday, the utility says operations have returned to normal after three pump failures in two months. The pump started operating Wednesday evening and was monitored overnight. Wastewater and stormwater are now being pumped from the Duffus Street station to a wastewater treatment facility on Upper Water Street rather than flowing into Halifax harbour.
Not many homes in Halifax have a secret staircase that tunnels down four storeys to a vast concrete cavern. But stepping inside the modest brown house on Duffus Street, it's clear this isn't a normal home. The building is owned by Halifax Water, and is used to conceal the entrance to a tunnel that descends into a pumping station hidden beneath Barrington Street. "It was designed to fit into the neighbourhood so it wouldn't be as intrusive or ugly," said Jake Fulton, a spokesperson for Halifax Water.
