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.
Durham Region says the local water supply remains safe to drink despite “possible earthy or musty odours detected recently.” The region said in a post Thursday that changes to the smell or taste of the water typically occurs in the late summer or early fall, when Lake Ontario temperatures are higher. “Taste and odour episodes are caused by seasonal biological changes in Lake Ontario,” the region said.
As summer temperatures rise, Canadians may have trouble finding a place to cool off in the sweltering heat for reasons ranging from E.Coli in British Columbia to shark sightings in Nova Scotia. It’s an especially hot summer, with heat warnings by Environment Canada for many cities across the country in July. Temperatures are creeping above 30 degrees Celsius. Some Canadians have even been evacuated from their homes due to wildfires, like the one in Lytton, B.C. this month.
Three watershed groups on P.E.I. are planting trees in beaver meadows this summer, part of a new project to help deal with the impacts of climate change. In the Souris area, trees are being planted in a beaver meadow that is part of the Naufrage River system, created when beavers abandoned a dam there decades ago. The local watershed co-ordinator said not all Islanders will know the term "beaver meadow" but they likely would have seen them.
There’s no time like the present for Project Water, a program by the charity Engage and Change. With temperatures expected to feel close to 43 C with humidity on Thursday in the GTA, Project Water founder Jody Steinhauer was busy helping distribute about 700,000 water bottles from the parking lot of her 34-year-old discount wholesale business, Bargains Group, with the precious cargo going to the homeless in more than 200 locations. “How sad is that, that the agencies that were serving don’t have access to drinking water, drinking fountains,” said Steinhauer. “Homelessness is not a downtown Toronto problem — it’s spread everywhere.”
With temperatures fluctuating from cold to mild over the past few days, Saskatchewan residents are being reminded to watch out for ice dams on their property. SGI Canada says the freeze-thaw cycle during the winter months creates ideal conditions for condensation and ice damming. The results can cause damage to walls, ceilings and insulation, not to mention it can lead to mould issues down the road.
A decade-long warming trend in the Gulf of St. Lawrence continued in 2020 with deep waters reaching record highs, according to ocean climate data released Tuesday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Water temperatures at depths of 200, 250 and 300 metres were higher than any measured in the Gulf since records started in 1915, hitting highs of 5.7 C, 6.6 C and 6.8 C. All were well above the normal variations.
As temperatures across Canada continue to rise, few things do a better job of keeping us cool than going for a swim. But with the closure of public swimming pools across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many may be left wondering how safe it will be to return to these spaces once they reopen. According to Matthew Miller, a biochemistry professor at McMaster University in Hamilton who is studying the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is highly unlikely to be transmitted through water.
