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.
Students living in a new downtown McMaster University residence are demanding action from the university in Hamilton after ongoing construction has caused a slew of problems from electrical outages, to a bug infestation, to rashes and gastrointestinal issues from contaminated water. In one instance, the tenants’ group at 10 Bay St. says, a female student exited her shower to find a male construction worker in her kitchen.
Some people are frustrated that a now months-long non-consumption advisory has yet to be lifted at the natural water spring in Wakefield, Que. Kristine Schwartz, a resident in Low, Que., has relied heavily on the water source since her township — about 20 kilometres from Wakefield — has faced boil water advisories on and off for the last two years.
The local service district for Mainland, on Newfoundland's Port au Port Peninsula, has shut off its water supply, claiming it's undrinkable, and blaming the development of a wind energy project in the area. Dwight Cornect, director of the local service district, says LeCointre's Brook, the community's secondary water source, is discoloured. "The water is brown," Cornect said Thursday. He said he doesn't accept the government's assurances that the water has been tested and has no issues.
Iqaluit has just completed an investigation into its worst water contamination crisis. Last fall, fuel leaked into the water supply leaving it undrinkable for two months. Then in January, a different source contaminated the water again. Heather Yourex-West reports on the cause and concerns about clean drinking water in Canada’s northernmost city.
Nunavut's capital city says it expects tests on its drinking water to show undetectable levels of fuel. Iqaluit is under a state of emergency and its roughly 8,000 residents haven't been able to consume tap water since Oct. 12 because of fuel contamination. The city says in a news release that it has finished work to remove hydrocarbons from the water treatment plant. It says it plans to continue flushing its water treatment plant until Thursday, and residents will need to flush their own pipes by running taps after that.
During an emergency city council meeting on Tuesday, Iqaluit city council extended the local state of emergency in a unanimous vote. A state of emergency was declared on Oct. 12 after city staff found evidence of fuel contamination in the city's treated water supply. Residents were the water as it is unsafe to drink, even if filtered or boiled. During Tuesday's meeting, Coun. Kyle Sheppard told residents there is enough safe drinking water for all.
The results of water quality testing in Iqaluit showed "exceedingly high concentrations of various fuel components" in one of the city's water tanks, the city's chief administrative officer said Friday at a news conference, as residents learned their water supply will remain undrinkable until at least mid-next week. While officials said the water could contain diesel or kerosene the territory's top doctor doesn't see long-term health concerns for those who drank the water.
A boil water advisory on the Black Lake Denesuline First Nation that has been in place for more than seven years has been lifted, according to the Government of Canada. The long-term drinking water advisory (LT-DWA) was lifted on January 23. Nearly 200 homes and buildings in the northern First Nation such as the school, fire hall and band office now have clean drinking water from the local water treatment plant.
