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.
Following May long weekend, communities just north of the United States border will have to focus on conserving their water use. “We are very dependent on a system that was built in the 1900s in Montana to get a consistent source of water to the Milk River,” Coutts Mayor Jim Willet said on Friday. That system ultimately failed on Sunday when the final drop that funnels water from St. Mary’s River in Montana to Milk River in Alberta collapsed.
