Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

water licence

Fingers crossed for additional water licence

Fingers crossed for additional water licence

The Girl Guides of Canada has come to terms with the Town of Cochrane for a water licence sharing agreement, which is now going through a regulatory process. The town has issued a public notice for the transfer of the use of 4.4 million cubic metres of water from the Girl Guides of Canada to the town. Its wording follows specific directions laid out in the Water Act's water allocations transfer process. If successful, it will be redesignated for municipal use from its current status of recreational use.

Sunshine Coast given provincial approval for new water-saving measure

Sunshine Coast given provincial approval for new water-saving measure

According to the B.C. Forests Ministry, a water licence has been approved for the Church Road Well. The well was built near Gibsons last year to help support communities that rely on Chapman Lake for water. It will provide an additional three million litres of water per day to the Chapman water system. "Ideally, we would be pumping once the water quit going over the dam, because then we could save more water behind the dam,” said Leonard Lee, chair of the Sunshine Coast Regional District Board.

City of Whitehorse facing $39M upgrade to keep clean water flowing

City of Whitehorse facing $39M upgrade to keep clean water flowing

The City of Whitehorse is facing a pricey upgrade to its water treatment system, after officials noticed changes in the quality of the city's groundwater in recent years. The proposal is to add a new filtration system, at a price of about $39 million — and the city is not yet sure where that money will come from. There's also a timeline, as the work would need to be done before the city's water licence comes up for renewal in five years. "At no time is our water not safe to drink," said Mike Firlotte, the city's water and wastewater services manager.

Booming Alberta town close to maxing out its water licence capacity

Booming Alberta town close to maxing out its water licence capacity

Booming growth in Cochrane, Alta., is putting pressure on the town as it edges closer to maxing out its water licence capacity. Like other municipalities in the region, the town relies on a licence to draw the water it needs from the Bow River. But with no new water licences being granted by the provincial government and a growing population, the community needs solutions.

Imperial Oil visiting Sahtu communities in N.W.T. this week

Imperial Oil visiting Sahtu communities in N.W.T. this week

Imperial Oil is travelling to all five Sahtu communities in the N.W.T. this week for what it's calling "neighbour week."  The 143-year-old company says the purpose of the visits are for people to learn about its oil operation in Norman Wells, N.W.T., to ask questions, and to provide feedback. Company representatives will be in Norman Wells on Monday, Fort Good Hope on Tuesday, Tulita on Wednesday, Délı̨nę on Thursday and Colville Lake on Friday.

City of Yellowknife to draw drinking water from the bay during pipeline construction

City of Yellowknife to draw drinking water from the bay during pipeline construction

The City of Yellowknife hosted an open house Wednesday to provide updates on its $34.4 million project to replace the 53-year-old pipeline that supplies residents with drinking water. The new pipeline is scheduled to be in place by winter of 2026. It will continue to draw water from the Yellowknife River, as is the current system, but the city will have to pull water from Yellowknife Bay during construction beginning in 2024 for a period that could last up to 12 months.

Suspected toxic leak triggers water licence application for N.W.T. well-site cleanup

Suspected toxic leak triggers water licence application for N.W.T. well-site cleanup

The company responsible for cleaning up a defunct natural gas field near Fort Liard, N.W.T., says it will apply for a water licence after the territory's environmental regulator found chloride from the site is causing damage to the surrounding environment. In a June 5 letter to Paramount Resources, Environment and Natural Resources water resource officer Sonja Martin-Elson said that an inspection conducted last summer at the shuttered Pointed Mountain site found the company was in violation of the territory's Waters Act.

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