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 Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is warning swimmers not to go in the water at Sandpoint Beach in Windsor and Lakeshore Lakeview Park West Beach. The agency launched its annual testing program this week — taking samples from eight local beaches. Beach water samples grabbed by inspectors at Sandpoint and in Lakeshore showed high bacterial counts of E. coli.
The province is warning Manitobans to avoid the water at Ninette Beach, on northern Pelican Lake, after high levels of toxic algae were discovered last week. The concentrations of microcystin — an algal toxin that can be harmful to the liver or nervous system if large amounts of water are swallowed — at the southwestern Manitoba beach were "well above the recreational water quality objective," according to Manitoba's latest weekly beach conditions report, which was issued Friday.
The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) has closed Lake Echo Beach for swimming after confirming high levels of bacteria in the water. In a news release, HRM said a recent test shows bacteria levels at the beach exceed Health Canada’s swimming guidelines. The beach is closed for swimming until further notice. However, HRM staff will continue testing the water until bacteria levels return to safe levels and will notify the public.
Prince Edward Islanders are being asked to take extra care when moving their boats around this fall. The Nature Conservancy of Canada is concerned about the spread of Eurasian water milfoil, also known as zombie plant. The invasive species has been reported at a few sites on P.E.I. "It's a challenging one to manage," said Andrew Holland, national media relations director with NCC.
