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.
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.
The Canadian Armed Forces is now providing potable water in Iqaluit amid its ongoing water contamination crisis. The city has been under a state of emergency since Oct. 12, when staff confirmed evidence of fuel contamination in the city's treated water supply. Residents were told the water is unsafe to drink, even if filtered or boiled. The CAF is using mobile water treatment units to treat water from the Sylvia Grinnell River using reverse osmosis. It then transfers potable water to a designated city water truck that carries it to water filling depots at the Arctic Winter Games and the library parking lots.
When Carmela Patton moved into her Benton Harbor home from a nearby apartment complex, she didn’t think twice about turning on the faucet to boil noodles or get a drink. Only late last year, after her pastor recruited her to participate in a water quality sampling program, did she learn the city was in the midst of a water contamination crisis. Water samples from Benton Harbor homes since 2018 consistently revealed elevated levels of lead, a potent neurotoxin that damages the brain and nervous system and is particularly dangerous to young children.
