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.
Before the 2023 water season, the Main Headworks Canal, located in the Lethbridge Northern Irrigation District (LNID), was shut off so Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation could repair a liner that had been leaking for a few years. The district said when it was turned on in late-April, construction-related leaks were discovered extending the shutdown indefinitely, leaving farmers with just a fraction of their normal irrigation. They are now being told that the Keho Reservoir is also running low.
The company said it faced a “challenging and disappointing first quarter” this year, in which copper production declined. It also faced scrutiny from the Yukon government regarding its water treatment plans and owed royalty payments to the Selkirk First Nation, Yukon’s energy and mines minister John Streicker said in an interview. In a statement on May 13, Minto Metals chief executive Chris Stewart said the decision to cease operations was “extremely difficult,” but the company was acting responsibly to avoid “any damage” to the environment.
Iqaluit residents are encouraged to fill water jugs or other containers to help them get through Wednesday’s one-day water shutdown. It’s one of the tips the City of Iqaluit listed in a public service announcement to help prepare for the city-wide disruption. The city is shutting water off on Sept. 1 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to allow for the replacement of key valves to the city’s water infrastructure.
When Chris Moonias woke up thirsty at 4 a.m. in his room at the Victoria Inn on a recent fall day, the first thing he did was look for a bottle of water. Though tap water was available in the bathroom, the Neskantaga First Nation chief grabbed his key, left his room, and walked to a nearby boardroom to find a bottle. He couldn’t bring himself to use the tap. His community has been under a 25-year boil-water advisory, Canada’s longest, and a distrust of running water, he says, has become pervasive among its members: “That’s the continued trauma. I'm not the only one that goes through this. If you go room to room here at the hotel, I guarantee you 100 per cent of those rooms have cases of bottled water.”
