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.
At the height of the floods that ripped through B.C. in late November, Ripples Estate Winery in Abbotsford was under seven feet of water. A greenhouse full of tropical plants, expensive electronic distilling equipment, and most of their stock of wine, vodka, gin and rum were underwater. Blueberry fields were also drenched for nearly two weeks, including heavy machinery like harvesters, bobcats and tractors.
Ottawa’s construction and development industries will likely be affected by changes to the city’s drinking water licence that come into effect with province-wide changes on Monday. The changes may also affect traffic because water mains will take longer to connect in the right of way, Kevin Wylie, the city’s general manager of public works and environmental services, wrote in a memo to city council.
