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.
Gene Runtz is worried. As the mayor of McBride, B.C., he is staring down the barrel of a potential water shortage this winter that could leave residents and firefighters desperate during a prolonged drought season. The village, about 180 kilometres east of Prince George in central B.C., declared a state of emergency on Sept. 19 and restricted water usage the following day while under Stage 5 drought conditions — the highest level on the province's severity scale.
Due to a continued trend of falling water levels in the Pine Coulee Reservoir, the Town of Claresholm and the M.D. of Willow Creek have implemented stage 3 water restrictions. This water restriction impacts the town of Claresholm, Hamlet of Granum and the Willow Creek West Waterworks System (this system consists of the Claresholm Industrial Airport and Pipeline Water Co-op).
A water shortage has caused the City of Brooks and surrounding area to be put under water rationing. The Eastern Irrigation District (EID) has reported a significant drop in river levels, six to eight weeks earlier than usual due to low snowpack and early snowmelt in the region. In turn, the EID has initiated Stage 3 of their Drought Plan, limiting water usage to two-thirds of normal for residents and businesses in Brooks.
More than a week after his home was wrecked in a deadly earthquake that hit southern Turkey, Mohammad Emin's body is still covered in dust and grime. Like countless other victims of a catastrophe that killed more than 41,000 in Turkey and Syria, he is still waiting for a wash - affected by a shortage of clean water that international health bodies say poses a risk to public health.
Major catastrophes or disasters can lead to a water crisis, making people fight for drinking water for survival. Water scarcity has been reported in several parts of the world, posing a threat to humanity. It won't be long before the water problem becomes widespread. Before that time comes, we need to have ways to obtain clean and fresh water naturally.
Leaders of an Indigenous community near London, Ont., are calling for the federal government to work with them to help solve chronic water supply problems after a state of emergency was issued Tuesday due to low water levels. Residents of Oneida Nation of the Thames are under an order to conserve water and limit its use with the community's water tower at an all-time low. The tower is the primary source of water for the 546 homes and 22 buildings in the territory.
Drought conditions on Vancouver Island are now impacting winter activities at a popular ski destination. Mount Washington Alpine Resort, located about a 30-minute drive from the Comox Valley, is set to open Friday, Dec. 9, and a lack of snow on the hill and water in the local reservoirs mean visitors will have limited terrain to play on and will have to bring their own drinking water.
GoodLeaf Farms, Canada's first and largest commercial indoor vertical farm operation, has closed a successful financing round that will fuel expansion of its technology-driven, innovative indoor vertical farms into Eastern and Western Canada. The $150-million capital raise includes a further investment from McCain Foods and a new partnership with Power Sustainable Lios — a specialized agri-food investor that supports operators across the food value chain in accelerating growth initiatives that foster a more sustainable and resilient food system. With this financing in place, GoodLeaf will establish a national footprint with new farms in Calgary and in the Montreal area alongside its existing fully automated, 50,000-square-foot farm in Guelph, Ont.
A water shortage in Nunavut has prompted the region's territorial government to declare a state of emergency, leading experts to re-evaluate water infrastructure in areas they say lack necessary funding. "Families are frustrated. Businesses are frustrated," MP Lori Idlout told CTV News Channel. "Water is such an essential human right." Iqaluit, which reported a water shortage last week, is now working on getting regulatory approval to pump in water from a nearby lake.
The Nunavut government has declared a two-week state of emergency over a water shortage in Iqaluit. Joanna Quassa, the acting minister of community and government services, said Friday that it's meant to ensure the city can get necessary regulatory approvals to immediately begin replenishing its reservoir. "We are committed to working with the City of Iqaluit to ensure water levels will meet the needs of the residents of Iqaluit through the upcoming winter," Quassa said in a statement.
On Friday. the city Iqaluit declared state of emergency following a precarious water situation, writes Reuters. The city is located in the territory of Nunavut, in the far north in Canada. The water level in the local river Apex is historically low after a year of little rain, according to data from the last 40 years. Local authorities fear that there will not be enough water in the reservoir to supply the approximately 7800 inhabitants until winter when the river freezes over. The city is now seeking license to pump more water than normally allowed from the Apex river, as well as tapping an additional water source.
The city of Iqaluit is declaring a state of emergency due to historically low water levels caused by a lack of rain this summer. This moves the municipality one step closer to begin pumping water from a nearby lake, referred to as Unnamed Lake or Qikiqtalik Lake, to fill the water reservoir in Lake Geraldine ahead of freeze-up. The city still needs approval from the Nunavut Water Board before pumping can begin.
Mexico declared the water shortage in the northern state of Nuevo Leon a matter of "national security" on Friday as the region, home to Mexico's industrial capital, has been crippled by a worsening drought in recent months. In a declaration issued Friday afternoon, the federal government said available water should be prioritized for public use, and said existing federal water concessions to private companies could be modified or reduced.
The proposed flow of 250,000 gallons/second represents a lot of water. Converting it into a more normal engineering unit, this would represent about 32,000 cubic feet/second (CFS). That happens to be about the same rate of flow as passes through the generating turbines at Hoover Dam at full capacity. In the original letter, this flow was correctly calculated as the amount of flow necessary to fill Lake Powell in one year. Even at today’s record low level, Lake Powell is not empty. Lesser flows could reduce the costs and difficulty of the project while still providing significant benefits.
People living in Iqaluit are being reminded to conserve water as the city continues to deal with a water shortage that first reached emergency levels back in 2018. Amy Elgersma, Iqaluit's chief administrative officer, told Nipivut host Mary Oblibuk Tatty this past week that water levels at Lake Geraldine, the reservoir for the city's potable water, are lower than the city would like them to be. There are three reasons why, she said.
For many southern Saskatchewan producers still reeling from last year’s drought conditions, a recent report on the spring runoff outlook may not offer much comfort. And perhaps no comfort at all, for those in the southwest. A news release, sent to accompany the Water Security Agency’s (WSA) March 1 report, states the organization “is currently expecting a below to well below normal snowmelt runoff response over much of southern Saskatchewan.” “Only areas east of Moose Jaw are forecast to receive near or above normal runoff,” the release reads.
It is becoming an increasingly common story - Another city is running out of drinking water. Chennai, India, the country's sixth-largest metropolis with 4.65 million people, is facing a dire water shortage. The coastal metropolis is the world's first major city to be facing a severe water shortage, but several large cities around the world may soon face a similar crisis. The four reservoirs supplying the region have dried up, leaving small potholes filled with muddy stagnant puddles of dirty water.
Gwenn Flowers, a glaciologist, trudges back and forth across a vast glacier in southwest Yukon, pulling a radar device mounted on skis behind her. "We as Canadians are stewards of about a third of the world's mountain glaciers and ice caps, so this is our responsibility," Flowers says. The dramatic changes to the glaciers in the Yukon are an early warning of what climate change could mean for the rest of the planet, researchers say. And Flowers sees lots of reason for concern reflected in the state of the ice.
