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.
A nimble fleet of kayakers has been delivering goods to a farm near Chilliwack, B.C., ever since the floods cut off road access in mid-November. Suzy Coulter, whose farm is south of Chilliwack, ended up getting cut off from the main road after the massive storms of Nov. 15 and 16. Coulter said the road was "completely eaten" by the surging Chilliwack River and the only road access left for the farm is a forest service road at the top of a steep hill.
Nova Scotia's Department of Environment is investigating a suspected blue-green algae bloom in Grand Lake, north of Fall River, after two dogs died and one person was sent to hospital Wednesday. The province issued an emergency alert early Thursday morning, warning all residents who take water directly from Grand Lake to stop using the water immediately. "What we do know is there's obviously a toxin," Julie Towers, the department's deputy minister, said Thursday afternoon. "Whether it's human-caused or a natural source is to be determined."
Rebecca Zagozewski is the executive director of the Saskatchewan First Nations Water Association, a non-profit organization that works to build First Nations’ capacity to take care and control of their own water services. She says recruitment and retention of water treatment plant operators is a “real problem” on Saskatchewan First Nations, largely because they often can’t pay operators competitive wages.
