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.
Living Lakes says these meetings will be interactive sessions where participants can provide feedback on local water concerns and monitoring priorities and ask questions about the project. “Through this project we are collaborating with local groups to expand our water monitoring network so we can work with communities and all levels of government to protect our watersheds,” said co-ordinator Bill Coedy in a news release.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said Tuesday that the agency is still working on a plan to bring long-term improvements to the water system in Mississippi’s capital city, which came perilously close to collapsing more than two months ago. “I am here for the fourth time in one year because I want to hear directly from you,” Regan told dozens of business people, elected officials, pastors and others during a meeting at Jackson State University.
“Forest practices can affect water quality, quantity and timing of water flows, which may have negative impacts to drinking water, fish habitat, infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, and private property” said Kevin Kriese, chair of the Forest Practices Board, in a statement. “Looking ahead, climate change will have significant effects on our watersheds and can compound the effects of human activities, including forestry. However, there are steps that can be taken to avoid or reduce these impacts.”
There are yellow fish in the Nepahwin Lake watershed, but they’re not in the water. With brushes and stencils in hand, Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School students have painted yellow fish symbols with the words ‘Rain Only’ on area storm drains. It’s all part of Trout Unlimited Canada’s Yellow Fish Road education campaign and a collaborative project by Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, the Junction Creek Stewardship Committee and the Nepahwin Lake Watershed Stewardship Group, with support from the City of Greater Sudbury Lake Stewardship Grant Program.
A special interest group is, by definition, “a group of people or an organization seeking or receiving special advantages, typically through political lobbying”. I have been involved in the development of the Water Act since its humble beginnings in 2015. I read all the public comments and heard many of the presentations. A very large majority – not a vocal minority, as these organizations repeatedly claim – expressed genuine concerns over the threats to water in the province.
