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.
“Talk to anyone in Salem and they’ll tell you there is no good water,” Municipality of Pictou County Warden Robert Parker said. “You can drill 10 wells in one property and you’ll still not get good water.” The water that people do manage to tap into is often discoloured and has an odour from the minerals in the area. While it’s an aggravation to those living there, it creates a bigger issue, Parker says because it prevents people from wanting to move to the area.
In 2021, Federal Court approved a class-action settlement between Canada and several First Nations that were subject to long-term drinking water advisories from 1995 to 2021. Now, settlement negotiators have extended the deadline for First Nations to submit a claim until March 7. If the Band Council Acceptance Resolution that a First Nation files with the settlement administrator is accepted, it will receive a $500,000 base payment and be eligible for additional payments of up to 50% of the amounts paid to eligible individuals in the community.
Spoiler alert, the rates are rising. Expect to see a 2.1 per cent increase in your water bill throughout the year. This rate hike is identical to last year’s increase which was also 2.1 percent. This is no coincidence, as back in 2019 the town adopted a financial plan, and soon after implemented an asset management plan. These plans outlined strategies for rehabilitating old infrastructure within the municipality, including water and sewer. In 2020, the water financial plan was adopted, which recommended an annual increase in the water levy of 2.1 per cent, and that rate is in place until 2026.
For the seventh time since 2008, the community of Clearbrook in Abbotsford, B.C., has been awarded an international gold medal for the quality of its tap water. Clearbrook claimed top spot in the municipal water category at the 33rd annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, held on Saturday in Berkeley Springs, W.Va. The event bills itself as the "Academy Awards of water."
When you think about renewable energy sources on the Prairies, your mind may go to the wind farms in southern Alberta, or even the Travers Solar Project, southeast of Calgary. Most of the conversation around renewable energy in the province is dominated by advancements in solar and wind power. But what about Canada's main source of electricity — hydro power?
The Lake Diefenbaker irrigation project is expected to double the amount of irrigable land in Saskatchewan. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities wants to make sure it gets done — and soon. Last week, SARM called on the provincial government to provide an update on the state of the irrigation expansion works. "We want this project to go ahead as soon as possible," SARM president Ray Orb said. "We want to make sure that the province is dedicated to finishing these projects, and doing that on a timely basis."
Spring may feel far off, but the government of Manitoba is making plans to address any potential seasonal flooding that could occur after a difficult flood season last year. The province's Hydrologic Forecast Centre released its first flood outlook for the season on Tuesday and is predicting moderate flows along the Assiniboine and Red rivers, and in the Interlake region along the Fisher and Icelandic rivers.
This year's HER for SHE initiative spotlights five Canadian women working to build a better future through their passion, activism, and work in their communities: Autumn Peltier, Indigenous Rights and Water Activist; Fae Johnstone, 2SLGBTQIA+ Advocate; Rita Audi, Gender and Education Equality Activist; Naila Moloo, Climate Tech Researcher; and Kélicia Massala, founder of Girl Up Québec.
Kush Sharma, director of municipal modernization and partnerships for the Municipal Information Security Association of Ontario, reported that 92 per cent of respondents to a recent poll of members said municipalities should first focus on critical infrastructure — such as the water system, public transit, solid waste and the voting system — before what they called traditional IT. “What you don’t want is the water system to be breached. If Microsoft Office 365 and your documents go down, or maybe you can’t process some financial statements, that can be fixed. But if your water system goes down there are life-safety issues. If we can try to balance the resources we have as municipalities and focus on the critical infrastructure components …. that would be a good start.”
Got a favourite lake? Want to help protect it? Lakes in Canada are threatened by habitat loss, invasive species, pollution, and climate impacts like rising water temperatures. The National Lake Blitz is an annual citizen-science program that encourages the widespread monitoring of lakes using simple tools. Through monitoring, participants learn about the impacts affecting lake health and get inspired to protect them.
The conference, set to take place in New York from March 22 to 24, is the first in almost 50 years solely devoted to creating a water action agenda. It aims to address the “alarmingly off-track” progress on water-related goals and targets that are “jeopardizing the entire sustainable development agenda,” the United Nations wrote on its website. The conference is a unique opportunity to solve the world’s water problems, said Dousse, 36. “The 21st century will be blue or there won't be any other centuries for the generations to come,” Dousse said.
Today, Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for Kitchener—Conestoga, and His Worship Gregg Davidson, Mayor of the Township of Mapleton, announced over $5 million in joint funding towards the design and construction of a new pumping station to replace the Drayton Sewage Pumping Station. The project will also consist of installing new sanitary system connections, called forcemains, to the existing wastewater collection system, and constructing an overflow storage facility. These upgrades will allow the system to accommodate higher volumes of water during storms and prevent sewage discharges.
Primo Water Corporation (NYSE: PRMW) (TSX: PRMW) (the "Company" or "Primo"), a leading provider of sustainable drinking water solutions in North America and Europe, today announced that it will present at the 2023 Raymond James 44th Annual Institutional Investors Conference on Monday, March 6, 2023. The presentation, which will begin at approximately 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time, will be webcast through the investor relations section of Primo's website at primowatercorp.com and will be archived for replay for a period of two weeks following the event.
Tofino residents were asked to limit their water use to drinking and flushing on the weekend after the district’s water supply was affected by a major power outage. All food operators were asked to only serve takeout orders to save on water. Heavy snow downed trees onto power lines Saturday evening, cutting electricity to about 2,300 B.C. Hydro customers, including the system that runs Tofino’s water supply. Environment Canada said about 32 centimetres of snow fell in the Ucluelet-Tofino area Saturday, more than anywhere else on the Island.
Today, Kody Blois, Member of Parliament for Kings‒Hants; the Honourable Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables and Member of the Legislative Assembly for Cumberland South, and His Worship Murray Scott, Mayor of the Municipality of the County of Cumberland, announced more than $6.4 million in joint funding to improve the County’s water and wastewater infrastructure.
Parks Canada says genetic traces of zebra mussels found in a recent water sample taken from Clear Lake aren’t cause for undue concern. Although tests for environmental DNA for the invasive species came back positive last month, it could have come to the lake on a boat, water toy or other source, without the transfer of any living mussels. Living organisms like zebra mussels, which originated from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine and were introduced to many countries worldwide in the 1980s, shed DNA all the time, says Borden Smid, resource conservation manager with Parks Canada.
A boil-water advisory for part of Cornwall, P.E.I., has been lifted, officials say. The order was put in place for dozens of homes in Chateau Estates and houses on Lakeview Drive this week. In a statement, Doug Longmoore, Cornwall's infrastructure manager, said water samples taken by the province on Friday came back clear. Residents may now use tap water as usual.
Mining for lithium can be incredibly water intensive. The process can involve releasing water from aquifers and leaving it to evaporate in what's known as salt flats. What's left is a variety of minerals and metals, including lithium, that is then gathered and processed. It's a common practice in South America, where Argentina, Chile and Bolivia are among the world's top producers.
An analysis of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data by Texas A&M University has found elevated levels of nine chemicals that “may be of health concern” to residents of East Palestine, Ohio. The small town of 5,000 played host to a nightmarish scenario early this month when a train carrying hazardous materials crashed, leaking toxins into the soil, water and air.
Environmental and human rights impacts of Canadian mining firms operating abroad were the subject of recommendations by a University of Guelph professor to the House of Commons standing committee on international trade this month. A professor in the Gordon S. Lang School of Business and Economics, and director of the Guelph Institute for Sustainable Commerce, Dr. Rumina Dhalla provided recommendations on Indigenous rights, women in mining, children and supply chains.
