Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

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IAEA team joined by China takes samples after Fukushima water release

IAEA team joined by China takes samples after Fukushima water release

The International Atomic Energy Agency and experts from China, South Korea and Canada on Monday collected seawater samples near the crippled Fukushima nuclear complex in northeastern Japan following the release of treated radioactive water from the site, the Japanese government said. The team is visiting Japan through Oct. 23 to corroborate the country's marine monitoring amid safety concerns over the water release, which began late August. China has sharply reacted to the discharge by imposing a blanket ban on Japanese seafood imports. In addition to seawater, the team will collect samples of seabed sediment and fish and compare the levels of tritium and other radioactive substances from those taken last year, according to Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority.

Answers on what's causing smelly Puslinch water expected in coming days

Answers on what's causing smelly Puslinch water expected in coming days

After dealing with putrid-smelling water for around three weeks, a group of residents in Puslinch, Ont. may soon get some answers on what’s causing it. In an email to CTV News, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks said ministry staff inspected the area on July 11 and took samples from private wells at three different locations.

WECHU to start annual beach water testing

WECHU to start annual beach water testing

The local health unit will begin its beach water quality testing starting June 12. Samples from the local area beaches will be taken every Monday by public health inspectors and result will be made public on Wednesday afternoons. Some extra quick tips to stay safe at the beach...to keep in mind are to read and obey the signs posted, don't go swimming if the water is rough, cloudy, or green, and if you think you may have become ill from beach water, consult your health care provider. 

A Windsor, Ont., tenant claims she found something moving in her water. But answers were hard to find

A Windsor, Ont., tenant claims she found something moving in her water. But answers were hard to find

Nancy Basinger says she saw little ripples of movement inside a bucket of water from her bathroom, and she almost couldn't believe her eyes. The downtown Windsor, Ont., tenant says she immediately called over a friend to take a look at what she thought were little tiny fish swimming in her water. But she says she's since had them identified by a researcher as crustaceans — aquatic invertebrates known as amphipods. 

Arsenic levels in Garden Bay well water under investigation, residents notified four weeks later

Arsenic levels in Garden Bay well water under investigation, residents notified four weeks later

The water supplied to 18 Garden Bay area homes is under a “do not use” warning from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) as of Nov. 4. Dream Valley Estates residents were notified by VCH that slightly elevated arsenic levels were detected in Sept. 28 water supply samples. Health Canada’s maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) for arsenic in drinking water is 10 parts per billion (ppb). Two of three Dream Valley samples tested at 11.3 and 11.6 ppb. One of those samples tested raw water and one was on treated water.

Anthrax outbreak confirmed in Wood Buffalo National Park

Anthrax outbreak confirmed in Wood Buffalo National Park

A suspected anthrax outbreak at Wood Buffalo National Park has been confirmed. Samples sent to a lab early last week came back positive on Thursday said Parks Canada in a news release the same day, confirming the presence of anthrax in at least one dead bison at the park. Bison will usually contract the disease from contaminated soil while wallowing in dust baths. Spores develop in hotter temperatures and fluctuating water levels. Cooler temperatures will kill the spores and slow the outbreak.

P.E.I. turns to wastewater for COVID-19 information

P.E.I. turns to wastewater for COVID-19 information

Some communities on P.E.I. may soon be looking for information about COVID-19 in wastewater. Several jurisdictions across the country already sample wastewater in an effort to collect data on how the virus is moving through their communities. Officials with the City of Charlottetown's water and sewer utility started discussions with P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Monday about the possibility of wastewater monitoring for the virus.

Alberta promises close watch on new mines but cuts oversight of coal-polluted rivers

Alberta promises close watch on new mines but cuts oversight of coal-polluted rivers

Alberta government documents show repeated cuts to environmental monitoring despite contaminants in some waterways that exceed thresholds that are supposed to trigger increased scrutiny. The province's 2019 five-year monitoring plan shows stations on two rivers and a creek polluted with selenium from coal mines were mothballed. That was despite more than two decades of readings that Alberta Environment guidelines suggest should have led to closer attention.

Members of Neskantaga come home today to boil water advisory

Members of Neskantaga come home today to boil water advisory

Another factor in the chief's decision is the fact that the plant still isn't running at capacity. It's designed to produce 3.8 litres of water per second for each of its two treatment lines, but the most it can produce now is less than three litres, according to project progress reports obtained by CBC News. "The amount would still meet the [community's] need," said Lalita Bharadwaj, a professor at the School of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan who studies access to safe drinking water in First Nations. "But it raises concerns about the sustainability of the system, and operations and management of the system." Bharadwaj said there should be four operators working at the plant — two who are certified and two others from the local community who can receive training, which she said could take years.

Testing suggests 1 in 5 Winnipeg homes with lead pipes have unsafe levels of lead in drinking water

Testing suggests 1 in 5 Winnipeg homes with lead pipes have unsafe levels of lead in drinking water

One in five Winnipeg homeowners with lead pipes will get unacceptable levels of lead in their drinking water the moment they turn on the tap, according to the City of Winnipeg. Under the city's lead water quality testing program, samples were taken from 268 homes with lead pipes between Aug. 15 and Nov. 19. The testing was done to ensure water quality met new national guidelines for lead in drinking water, which cut the acceptable amount of contamination in half last March. "Overall, the results are as expected," Renee Grosselle, manager of environmental standards with the City of Winnipeg, told reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Higher levels of opioids and meth found in Vancouver waste water: StatsCan

Higher levels of opioids and meth found in Vancouver waste water: StatsCan

Metro Vancouver has higher-than-average levels of opioids and methamphetamine in its waste-water system compared with other Canadian cities, according to a new Statistics Canada study analyzing cannabis and drug use in the country based on what Canadians flush down their toilets. In contrast, Vancouver reported less-than-average levels of cannabis in sewage, casting doubt on the city’s reputation as Canada’s cannabis capital.

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