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.
Lacey Phillips, another Tamarack resident, said she got her water back Monday after losing it more than 48 hours earlier. She said the residents all pay lot fees which include water. Hers is around $350 each month. Phillips said it's not unusual to have a boil notice in effect for Tamarack, but she said it's also not unusual to have black water coming out of her taps — boil order or no boil order.
A Canadian mining company has been fined more than $16 million for polluting waterways in B.C.'s East Kootenay. The B.C. Ministry of Environment has imposed three administrative penalties on Teck Coal Limited, a subsidiary of Teck Resources, citing the company's failure to have water treatment facilities ready by a required date to limit emissions of nitrate and selenium from its Fording River operations in the Elk Valley.
Floating, rock-like masses formed of fat, grease and trash like wet wipes and diapers — researchers found more than 100 of these "fatbergs" along the docks of Toronto Harbour last year. Despite the stench, it's a celebratory feat. That's because since the research team's launch in the summer of 2019, keeping tabs on this form of pollution remained just out of reach.
Spot testing of creeks across South Langley and Surrey is the first step in reducing levels of bacteria that are affecting shellfish harvests downstream. On Monday, Feb. 6, Lisa Dreves of Langley Environmental Partners Society was out sampling from Langley and Abbotsford creeks that run south across the Canada-U.S. border into the Nooksack River. At a bridge in Otter Park off 248th Street, she flings an old plastic milk jug tied to the end of a rope into Bertrand Creek, hauling up about a litre of water. Smaller samples are poured into bottles for later testing. Meanwhile, another device dangled off the bridge checks the oxygen content and temperature of the stream, both important for fish.
Acela Truck Company and Safetek Profire recently announced a strategic partnership to distribute Acela Monterra extreme-duty, high-water/flood rescue trucks. The two industry-leading companies are partnering to offer North America's most capable high water flood rescue trucks and wildland fire trucks, expanding Acela Truck Company's growing distribution footprint and Safetek Profire's growing product offerings.
As glaciers melt and pour massive amounts of water into nearby lakes, 15 million people across the globe live under the threat of a sudden and deadly outburst flood, a new study finds. More than half of those living in the shadow of the disaster called glacial lake outburst floods are in just four countries: India, Pakistan, Peru and China, according to a study in Tuesday’s Nature Communications. A second study, awaiting publication in a peer-reviewed journal, catalogs more than 150 glacial flood outbursts in history and recent times.
The City of Iqaluit says it lost between six and 10 million litres of water over the past three days as crews worked to address problems with its piped water system. The city shut down all water services on Saturday while crews repaired the water line near the Astro Hill complex where a major leak had been reported early that morning. Water was restored for most of the city by Saturday night, while a medical boarding home was hooked back up to the system by Sunday afternoon.
Eddy Smart Home Solutions Ltd.'s (Eddy) (TSXV: EDY) is pleased to share findings of a recent study completed using data from a 5-year period on the effectiveness of water protection systems in reducing losses from water damage claims. Conducted by Aon Canada's Real Estate Practice, the study found that the proper installation, monitoring and use of water leak detection technologies can significantly reduce the total damages incurred for insurance water damage claims for owners of commercial real estate operations.
Darryle Sinclair is one of many evacuees from Peguis First Nation who could be stuck without homes for years while plans for future home builds and flood mitigation efforts continue. "We have to move and relocate," Sinclair said. "For a replacement home, we have to wait until everything's ready and gets back to normal. It's tough." But as of now, he doesn't know when that will be.
An environmental conservation group says goldfish, a provincially-designated invasive species, are now thriving in a popular pond in Kelowna, B.C. Lisa Scott, executive director of the Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society based in Summerland, B.C., says local residents have spotted glints of gold under the ice at Munson Pond, an ecological area, with endangered status, located south of downtown Kelowna.
For the first time since last May, the Sunshine Coast Regional District has lifted water conservation regulations affecting a large part of its area north of Vancouver. A statement from the regional district says, effective immediately, Stage 1 water conservation regulations have been removed in the Chapman water system. In October, the regional district said the reservoir — which serves about 90 per cent of residents in the area — was at risk of "imminent exhaustion'' as southern B.C. recorded an unseasonably dry summer and warm fall.
According to the promoters, the region contains some of the world's largest deposits of spodumene, a rock from which lithium — key to the energy transition and the electrification of transport networks — is extracted. Nemaska Lithium describes itself as a corporation that "intends to facilitate access to green energy, for the benefit of humanity." The Whabouchi open pit mine will be located about 30 kilometres from the village of Nemaska, in the watershed of the Rupert River, considered one of Quebec's ecological gems. "If the water becomes contaminated by the mine, I don't see how we can limit the damage to the food chain," says Thomas Jolly, who was chief of Nemaska from 2015 to 2019, stressing the importance of fishing to his community.
Last year’s catastrophe losses pose a stark reminder of the need to build resilience and educate people about risk mitigation and insurance, according to Aon executives. Global insured losses from natural disasters and climate events topped US$100 billion (CAN$134 billion) for third year in a row, according to a new report by global broking giant Aon. The 2023 weather, climate and catastrophe insight report revealed that natural disasters caused US$313 billion in economic losses globally in 2022, 4% above the 21st-century average.
The frigid temperatures reportedly caused water pipes to burst in many residences across the region, forcing people to vacate their homes. Jacob Thompson, an energy co-ordinator with Nova Scotia environmental activist group Ecology Action Centre, said that while he appreciates that the cold snap was abrupt and severe, he questions why the utility’s equipment was not equipped to handle extreme weather.
BQE Water Inc. (TSXV: BQE), a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, proudly congratulates Clem Pelletier and Chris Fleming – two long serving Directors of the Company – for their recent awards in recognition of their life-long contributions to the mining industry. Clem Pelletier, a process chemist/metallurgist who was one of the Company's founding Directors had served on various committees from 2000 until 2018 and continues to serve as a technical advisor, is the recipient of the 2022 Robert R. Hedley Award for Excellence in Social and Environmental Responsibility as presented by the Association for Mineral Exploration (AME) of British Columbia. This award honours individuals for their significant contributions to the social or environmental responsibility of projects, including impacts that increase equity, diversity and inclusion. For more than 50 years, Clem Pelletier has championed environmental impact studies and collaboration with Indigenous groups for the permitting of major mining projects worldwide.
Microclimates exist all around us. It may be that side of a city that always seems to be a little warmer, or always gets more snow. Think about Calgary, with its rain shadow from the mountains and chinook winds, or downtown Vancouver, which generally is warmer and sees less snow than surrounding areas. Microclimates can range in scale from the urban heat island effect that encompasses an entire downtown, right down to the sides of your yard that are able to grow different things.
We are losing wetlands three times faster than forests, according to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. When it comes to restoring them to their natural state there is one hero with remarkable powers - the beaver. Wetlands store water, act as a carbon sink, and are a source of food. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands says they do more for humanity than all other terrestrial ecosystems - and yet they are disappearing at an alarming rate. The main problems are agricultural and urban expansion, as well as droughts and higher temperatures brought about by climate change. But if you have a river and a beaver it may be possible to halt this process.
Waves of torrential rainfall drenched California into the new year. Snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada Mountains have swelled to more than 200% their normal size, and snowfall across the rest of the Colorado River Basin is trending above average, too. While the much-needed water has improved conditions in the parched West, experts warn against claiming victory. About 60% of the region remains in some form of drought, continuing a decades-long spiral into water scarcity.
Environmentalists are raising concerns about the future of Nova Scotia's only operating gold mine. Gold from the open pit at the Touquoy mine in Moose River, N.S., has already been exhausted, so active mining stopped at the end of January. The mine's owners, Australian company St Barbara, say they are now turning their attention to processing stockpiles, which are lower grade ore and less profitable.
Environment and Climate Change Canada also made a submission proposing changes to the amendment sought over water quality monitoring and mitigation. "What is at stake is whether it's acceptable to put the environment in jeopardy because safeguarding the conditions are not easy for a project to comply with," said Saxby who has lived in Squamish since 2001. "If a project isn't able to comply with its conditions, it should not be able to continue."
