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.
Half the population of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, 30 kilometres southeast of Montreal, have been without drinking water since a major water main break at the beginning of the week. The city declared a local state of emergency on Wednesday. The water cutoff affected more than 26,000 residential, commercial and industrial addresses in the St-Luc and L’Acadie sectors as of Wednesday afternoon, as well as part of the St-Jean sector, all on the western side of the Richelieu River.
Halifax Water says it has diverted untreated and unscreened sewage from entering the Northwest Arm, but it's still advising people to not swim or participate in activities that require contact with the water. In an update after 6 p.m., the water utility said the water is now being treated but that repair work is still underway.
Before the 2023 water season, contractors hired by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation made repairs to Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District (LNID) canal’s lining that had be leaking for several years. But after the repairs were made and the water turned on in April, it was discovered more leaks had been created by the repair work.
Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell says the reported "unbearable" fuel smell from the city's water treatment plant on Oct. 8 was from repair work on the fuel line for the water plant's boiler. Government of Nunavut emails obtained by CBC News through an access to information request show staff from the Nunavut Health and Environment departments inspected the water treatment plant four days before the government of Nunavut's "do not consume" order was issued on Oct. 12.
The Stz’uminus First Nation reservoir has lost 500,000 litres of water after a damaged fire hydrant was discovered in the Shell Beach area of Stz’uminus. Due to the water loss, Stz’uminus does not have enough water in the reservoir to safely fight a fire if one broke out. Local fire departments are on standby with pumper trucks in the event of a fire. In a press release, Stz’uminus said that 33 truckloads of water will be brought in to help refill the reservoir at ‘significant cost’.
