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.
The mayor of Glencoe, Ont., says the cost of cleaning up and repairing the damage from Wednesday's deadly rainstorm has pushed his rural community to ask the province for financial relief. Environment Canada said Wednesday the town received 135 millimetres of rain during a downpour that turned driveways into ponds, roads into streams and filled basements with sewage.
People who live in rural parts of Nova Scotia that have wells on their property are in a bind these days. Water-softener salt, which is used to treat hard water, is in hot demand because there is little of it at stores in the province. "I've been looking for it for about three or four weeks," said Carol Morrison, who lives in Oakfield, a community about 30 kilometres north of Halifax. Morrison said she is keeping a close eye on how much water she is using until she can secure more water softener. "I take short showers, reduce the number of washes I do and really make sure the dishwasher is loaded right up before I run it through." The reason for the shortage is a strike by employees at Windsor Salt in Ontario. It's one of Canada's biggest producers of water-softening salt and there is now a huge hole in the market. Other companies' shipments have been making it to some stores like Costco, but they are quickly snapped up.
Islanders in rural areas using wells are being asked to test their water following power outages due to Fiona. Bacteria like coliform, which can make people sick, can form in pipes if there is no water filling them. Amy Carver lives in Long Creek and says she found out her water should be tested through a family friend. "We went and got tested as soon as we could and came back positive for coliform bacteria in a number that's not a safe number to have in your drinking water. And now we have a whole new set of adjustments to make," she said. "The lab that does the testing gave us an outline of precautions we needed to take and different ways to manage some household activities such as dishes. You can use the water to wash them, but you have to sanitize them in a bleach solution and air dry them."
Leaders of small Newfoundland and Labrador towns say water in their communities is so unreliable that in some cases, it has made residents ill. While government says it's slowly working on fixes, there's no clear end for boil advisories in sight. Black Tickle, a community on Labrador's south coast, has been under a chronic boil order for years, says Todd Russell, president of the NunatuKavut community council. The unpotable water has meant widespread disease among the locals, he said.
Kneehill County council passed a motion at the Tuesday, August 17 regular council meeting to pursue a feasibility study regarding providing water to residents east of the Town of Three Hills in rural Kneehill County. In March 2021 a survey was sent to residents in the Three Hills East area, and administration was directed at the April 27 council meeting to explore water delivery options for the area. A total of five options were presented to council at the regular July 20 council meeting, and council directed administration to further explore four of these options.
Water scarcity in rural Alaska is not a new problem, but the situation is getting worse with climate change. Lasting solutions must encourage the use of alternative water supplies like rainwater catchment and grey water recycling. They must also address the affordability of water related to household income, say researchers from McGill University. Washing hands with clean water is something most people take for granted, yet for Alaska's rural residents, this is often not the case. When people pay for water by the gallon, serious thought is given to how much is used – even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On any given day in Newfoundland and Labrador, there are about 200 boil-water advisories in place in rural communities — and it's not only a problem of public health, but of the viability of small towns themselves. Governments have known for decades the seriousness of the situation, but the problem persists, for several reasons, starting with cost.
Residents of the regions around Belleville, Napanee, Madoc and north of Kingston, Ont., are being asked to conserve water after a dry spell resulted in low water levels. Quinte Conservation has declared a "Level 2 Low Water Condition" for the Moira, Napanee and Salmon watersheds. That means wells have water levels below normal for this time of year, and with warm temperatures and little rain in the forecast, levels could drop further, leading to serious water supply issue in the region.
