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 Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) released its report cards for the watersheds in the region, and while some results are positive, ERCA concluded some areas need improvement. The report cards, which are given based on five years of data collection, are given out by conservation authorities across Ontario using standardized methodologies to grade surface water and groundwater quality and forest cover, according to Katie Stammler, a water quality scientist with ERCA.
Local and federal officials are cautiously optimistic construction will be underway this spring for a water pipeline to serve the Oneida Nation of the Thames in southwestern Ontario. The pipeline, still in the design phase, is expected to be 18 kilometres long and connect the First Nation community with clean drinking water through the Lake Huron Water Supply System.
Buried beneath the gravel shoulder of the intersection is a 16-inch diameter wide water main. The pipe is part of the Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System, the same vast network that carries treated Lake Huron water to 15 municipalities across an area the size of Prince Edward Island. Parts of London, along with Middlesex Centre, Strathroy-Caradoc, Lucan-Biddulph, Grand Bend and others, are supplied by this system.
Residents in Guelph are currently forbidden from watering their lawns, and may be fined if they do. A number of regions in Ontario have implemented water restrictions due to the drier than usual weather. “We’re definitely in a dry spell, and as a result, we are using more water in terms of watering lawns and various activities,” said Mari MacNeil, environmental services at the City of Guelph. “Guelph is on an underground water base system. We need to be very careful about our water use.” Environment Canada said since the middle of June, southwestern Ontario has been drier than normal.
Residents, environmentalists and the mayor of Leamington, Ont., say homes and businesses are at severe risk while Ottawa considers an application for millions of dollars to help protect the Hillman Marsh Conservation Area on the Point Pelee peninsula against Lake Erie flooding. Wayne King, founder of the Leamington Shoreline Association, says immediate action is needed to prevent the possibility of destructive flooding in the southwestern Ontario community. "There's 500 homes and businesses out there that would be under water," he said.
Dry, hot weather in southwestern Ontario may have an impact on farmers' crops, cutting into profits this season. According to data collected by Environment Canada, after 9.2 mm of rain fell on June 20, only 6.1 mm fell from June 21 to July 4. During that span, three heat warnings were issued by the weather authority, with temperatures reaching the low to mid-thirties. Geoff Coulson, a warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the heat is "definitely more concentrated in extreme southwestern Ontario."
Cesanek is one of hundreds of residents in the municipality of Central Elgin who are angry over rising water bills. He said that in the 7½ years since he moved to Belmont, Ont., his water bill has risen more than 50 per cent. "Most of our conversations with the neighbours are either about COVID or water, and we're equally annoyed at both." That annoyance is palpable in Port Stanley, where signs sprout from lawns saying "stop the madness" and "no water rate increase."
Farmers are not the only ones affected by the recent lack of rain. Lisa McLeod, co-owner of McLeod water wells in Strathroy, Ont., has been busy with calls from customers concerned about low water levels. She also had a no-water call on Friday. "We've been hearing from customers looking to improve their current water systems," she said. "People are looking for irrigation systems for their lawns, their crops or to fill up pools."
