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.
Officials are investigating after raw sewage started spilling into the Capilano River, one of the largest rivers flowing through Metro Vancouver's North Shore. The Squamish Nation, whose territories encompass much of North Vancouver, first reported the leak publicly on Friday. B.C.'s environment ministry later said it first heard about the sewage four days earlier, flowing out a storm drain outfall pipe from a private property near Fullerton Avenue in West Vancouver.
A mining project that would potentially pump upwards of $1-billion into the provincial economy over nearly a quarter century has plenty of opposition. Residents, business owners and politicians from in and around the Rural Municipality of Springfield packed the Anola Community Centre on Saturday for a public consultation, many raising concerns about Calgary-based Sio Silica's proposed sand silica mine.
A local First Nation says it's "disappointed" Teck Coal is seeking to reduce the $16 million in fines it was assessed by the B.C. Ministry of Environment in January for polluting waterways in B.C.'s East Kootenay. In January, the province 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.
These are desperate days for the Colorado River. The pulsing lifeblood of the U.S. southwest is increasingly parched. To avert catastrophe, the U.S. government will, within weeks, propose historic cuts in water access. It’s a frantic move to protect a river that provides so much: drinking water for tens of millions of people, electricity and food. Lots of food. This indispensable waterway supplies farms that feed hundreds of millions of people, throughout the continent — including Canadians.
A water quality advisory has been extended for the lower zone of the Okanagan Falls water system. Announced earlier this week, the Regional District for Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) says the advisory for manganese will remain in place until further notice. The regional district says it “recognizes that residents in the lower zone are continuing to encounter poor water quality and the RDOS is working on making changes to the water system with the anticipation of long-term improvements to the water quality.”
The Water Guys North has long been looking after and fulfilling the clean water requirements of Canadian residents. When Darin Lanktree, the founder of The Water Guys North, started working as a professional plumber in the Sudbury community, unmet water filtration needs there caught his attention. Fixing domestic water that had high amounts of iron and hydrogen sulphide became his passion. He took it as his responsibility to provide each Canadian resident with pure and safe water. As a member of the Canadian Water Quality Association and owner of the top Canadian water company, he along with other engineers in the team develops quality, suitable and essential water systems to satiate the diverse and unique water filtration needs of clients.
Almost three years after a major Saskatchewan irrigation project was announced, the head of a group representing rural municipalities says the provincial government should "get on" with it — while an organization that represents First Nations says the province should have consulted with those communities more. But where is the Lake Diefenbaker project now?
After decades of seeing their lands sold off by the province and exploited by resource companies, Blueberry River First Nations won a landmark case in 2021. A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled the province had breached the nation’s treaty rights by allowing so much disturbance it was impossible for the community to maintain its way of life. That ruling led to an agreement with the province in January that gives Blueberry River the power to determine where and how new development proceeds. The implications go far beyond Treaty 8 territory. The nation sits on what researchers call a “carbon bomb” — that, if fully tapped, would become Canada’s largest source of greenhouse gasses and among the largest in the world.
An initiative aiming to advance water quality protection and healthy sustainable communities around Lake Huron has awarded funding to a handful of local projects. Lake Huron Forever, which was developed in 2019 by shoreline community foundations and conservation partners from the United States and Canada, has awarded $5,000 grants to four projects in Ontario with ties to the local area, including Bruce County and Manitoulin Island. Grants were also handed out to four projects in Michigan. Those receiving funding in Ontario are a schoolyard stormwater bioswale project at Peninsula Shores District School in Wiarton, a coastal stewardship and education program by the Goderich-based Lake Huron Coastal Centre, the cover crop initiative of the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, and the Kagawong River Stream Restoration on Manitoulin Island.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force, sent a bipartisan letter with several colleagues to President Biden this week, urging the president to highlight the importance of Canadian investment in our shared Great Lakes resources during his upcoming visit to the country later this month. “The Great Lakes contain one-fifth of the world’s fresh surface water, providing drinking water for more than 30 million Americans and Canadians, supporting a $6 trillion regional economy, and providing habitat for a host of fish and wildlife,” the lawmakers wrote. “Through partnerships between the United States and Canada, sustained investments are critical to clean up toxic Areas of Concern, address the threat of invasive species, restore habitats, reduce harmful algal blooms, and mitigate other threats to the Great Lakes.
Ashlee Howarth, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, received $240,780 to design and synthesize new materials that can capture water from the air. Howarth’s project will develop metal–organic frameworks, which are porous materials that can capture water in the air in both humid and arid climates. They work by attracting and binding water molecules to their surface, forming a thin film. As climate change threatens our freshwater supply, these innovative materials can generate clean, drinkable water in remote communities in Canada or be integrated into existing municipal infrastructure in urban areas.
A draft report on flooding in the Rainy River area of Ontario last year recommends the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board look into the development of a new app that would provide easy access to information about the area's watershed. The board's Water Levels Committee, which has both a Canadian and U.S. component, released the report on its website on Friday. It sheds light on the spring 2022 flooding and includes recommendations on how to better handle any such disasters in the future.
A City of Ottawa task force is monitoring water levels ahead of the spring thaw and says there's no major flooding in the immediate forecast — but that could change in the weeks ahead. Water levels are currently normal or close to normal, according to the joint Thursday memo from public works general manager Alain Gonthier and Kim Ayotte, general manager of emergency and protective services.
Canada's spy agency says climate change is threatening the nation's prosperity and security, and has identified British Columbia as a region of particular concern. A newly released analysis by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) that was prepared in April 2021 and only recently disclosed to The Canadian Press spells out several concerns presented by global warming.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault says Alberta's nine-month silence over two releases of toxic oilsands tailings water is worrisome. He says Alberta is supposed to notify the federal government over such releases within 24 hours. In this case, Alberta government agencies seem to have known about seepage from Imperial Oil's Kearl oilsand tailings pond for nine months before making a public statement on it.
Living Lakes Canada is celebrating the BC Government’s decision to invest a historic $100 million into safeguarding the province’s watersheds. This unprecedented investment, announced as part of Budget 2023, will go towards the establishment of a long-term Watershed Security Fund that will be co-managed by B.C. First Nations and support communities to increase their adaptation options in anticipation of continuing climate change impacts. “Living Lakes Canada applauds the provincial government for taking this concrete step forward in watershed protection for the province,” said Kat Hartwig, Executive Director of Living Lakes Canada.
First Nations and Indigenous individuals can breathe a sigh relief as the deadline to submit for compensation with the First Nations Drinking Water Settlement has now been extended. The First Nations Drinking Water Settlement is a settlement (agreement) between the Government of Canada (Canada) and certain First Nations and their members. Any Indigenous individual or First Nation affected by a long-term drinking water advisory that lasted for at least one year between November 20, 1995, and June 20, 2021, will now have until March 7, 2024, to submit their claims.
Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is pleased to welcome six new members to its board of directors. Supporting the organization’s mission to conserve and restore wetlands and other natural areas, these directors bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help DUC advance sustainability, biodiversity and climate resiliency and achieve its vision of healthy wetlands and clean water for waterfowl, wildlife and people.
Prior to beginning her PhD, the major focus of her work was to find solutions to problems related to unclean water and water shortages within communities in India, specifically in regards to how these issues affect women. From 2016 to 2019, she held the role of thematic lead for water for the national sectoral steering committee for the habitat sector, Technology Information, Forecasting, and Assessment Council at the Department of Science and Technology within the Government of India. During this role she has led the preparation of status report on India’s climate change and habitat initiatives for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. She has brought international attention to concerns surrounding water issues by collaborating with workshops at the University College of London, in addition to organizing a workshop alongside the San Diego State University where delegates from all over the world came to discuss how they address these concerns in their countries in hopes of aiding India.
Taxpayers will find out in two months how much extra it will cost to fix the mechanical problems and lead-tainted water on board the navy’s new Arctic and offshore patrol ships. But Procurement Canada’s top bureaucrat has reassured parliamentarians that costs on the multi-billion vessels are coming down, despite figures showing the price tag actually jumped another $780 million over the past year.
