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.
Chocolate Lake Beach is closed to swimming until further notice as the municipality tests samples to see if a toxin-producing algae is present in the water, according the Halifax Regional Municipality. People are advised to avoid any contact with the lake water, and that warning extends to pets, since a bloom is suspected. The popular spot is one of three beaches in the municipality now closed.
In 2015, Regina and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, had to ration water supplies due to an inability to treat a toxic algae bloom in Buffalo Pound Lake, which supplies drinking water to both cities. In 2016, a summer drought led to water restrictions in southern Ontario and Nova Scotia, and in 2018 stringent water restrictions were imposed on many southern Alberta communities and farms due to reduced river flows. Even Vancouver, a city perched on the edge of a rainforest, has recently begun rationing summer water use due to a combination of rising consumer demand and a shrinking of the mountain snowpack that supplies the city’s reservoir.
