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.
Biigtigong Nishnaabeg held celebrations today to formally announce the construction of a new raw water intake and treatment plant. This new plant will provide a safe and reliable source of potable water capable of meeting the community's current and future needs. The announcement was made today by Chief Duncan Michano and Patty Hajdu, Minister of Indigenous Services.
California's stormy winter, which has brought severe flooding and landslides to the state, has led some local officials to lift water rules. Water conservation restrictions have been relaxed for nearly seven million people in Southern California after the state's 11th atmospheric river this season helped ease drought. But experts cautioned drought remains a long-term concern for the state. "Dry conditions could return as soon as next year," local officials said.
North Dundas council voted to sole source engineering of a new well for its water system to avoid up to 12 months of delay. North Dundas has been slowly moving through the environmental assessment process to add a new well on Lafleur Road to increase water capacity to the water system. Water supply issues have limited development in areas where users must connect to the water system in North Dundas.
Access to clean and safe drinking water is an internationally recognized human right, essential to the full enjoyment of life. Yet, it is under immediate threat. Indigenous communities around the world have historically been excluded from many important decisions on water policy. There is now a growing global acknowledgement that Indigenous Peoples should play a significant role in decision-making about water-related policies.
The Canadian and Alberta governments will establish a federal-provincial working group to accelerate remediation of oil sands tailings ponds, the Alberta government said on Wednesday, as investigations continue into an ongoing tailings leak at Imperial Oil's Kearl project. Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Alberta Environment Minister Sonya Savage met on Tuesday to discuss the incident at the 240,000 barrel-per-day Kearl mining project in northern Alberta.
The massive plan details more than 800 approved capital projects planned for the next five years to improve provincial highway, water control and northern airport assets throughout the province. It includes over $2.5 billion for highway infrastructure including $560 million to improve Manitoba’s key trade and commerce routes grid and nearly $280 million to upgrade Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway to freeway standards. Once complete, this initiative will improve safety by adding interchanges and overpasses at all roadways and railway crossings. 214 water-related projects including the proposed $600-million Lake Manitoba and Lake St. Martin Outlet Channels.
A Dene Nation water summit being held this week has taken on new urgency as delegates deal with the fallout from Imperial Oil’s Kearl tailings spills. The northern Alberta oil sands mine continues to operate but has now been ordered by the federal government to take immediate action to stop months-long seepage of wastewater. A separate release of millions of litres of tailings at the same site was also revealed last month.
First Onsite Property Restoration, Canada’s leading property restoration company, marks the end of winter and first day of spring (next week, March 20) with the release of The Spring Melt, a survey that examines Canadians’ concerns, perceptions, and property readiness amid ever-changing weather patterns. Commissioned by First Onsite, the survey of more than 1500 Canadian adults found that three-in-five people are worried about the damage caused by severe rains and flooding (58%).
The US government has proposed its first-ever restrictions on six harmful chemicals found in drinking water. Research has suggested over 200 million Americans likely drink water contaminated with PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to a host of health issues, including cancer. But up until now, the pollutants have only been regulated by some US states. The US on Tuesday issued a rule that would require communities to test and treat water for six of the chemicals.
After gazing upon a distant star, an international team of scientists may have discovered the “missing link” behind the origins of water in our solar system. Their findings, published in Nature last week, suggest the water we drink, bathe in, originates from the space between solar systems, billions of years before the birth of our sun. “Carl Sagan once said we are all star stuff,” said John Tobin, the study’s principal investigator and a U.S.-based scientist for the National Radio Astronomy Laboratory, to the Star. “ … The water that's part of us is also, in some ways, star stuff as well.”
Harrison Hot Springs residents are noticing the effects of Harrison Lake reaching historic lows. Village officials recently addresses some concerns raised by residents in a recent social media post. Low water levels in Harrison Lake have resulted in the exposure of wires and black piping along the shores close the the Waste Water Treatment Plant.
The Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance wants the northern Ontario city to stop building major roads near the city's watershed. The group says because arterial roads are legislated to be clear of snow between three to eight hours after a snowfall, the city has to use salt to reach that target. Smaller, less busy roads, though, don't have the same requirements in place, and the city can use sand for traction instead.
The bill Nestlé is backing this year, SB 1660, would create a whole new category of water, along with allowing industrial plants to bypass licensed water providers and treat water on-site for underground storage. "Effluent" -- or used -- water was already classified by Arizona as treated sewer water. However, this bill would create another type of effluent water specifically for manufacturers.
The past two weeks Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) has hosted the Clean Environment Commission hearing about a proposed silica extraction project in our region’s main aquifer. I heard a significant amount of scientific study and presentations for and against this project. As I listened, I reflected on how most of us take clean water for granted. There is so much in life that is now automated and controlled by us humans that we often lose sight of the value of the natural resources we receive and use.
The Town of Cochrane’s existing license to withdraw water from the Bow River is set to reach its maximum level in as little as four years, throwing into question how current rates of growth may be sustained in the near future. The province put a stop to any applications for new licenses in the South Saskatchewan River Basin (which includes the Bow River) in 2006.
Our most valuable resource is water, which we frequently take for granted. World Water Day is observed on March 22, and this year’s message is about change; it encourages us to change how we use, consume and manage water in our daily lives. There are several steps that homeowners can take to ensure their water is safe for their homes and consumption. I always recommend homeowners get their water tested, no matter where they live, but particularly outside urban centres or if they rely on a well source.
Today, Lena Metlege Diab, Member of Parliament for Halifax West, the Honourable Kim Masland, Minister of Public Works, and Her Worship Darlene Norman, Mayor of the Region of Queens Municipality, announced more than $2.6 million in joint funding for water and wastewater infrastructure upgrades in the Region of Queens Municipality. Funding will go towards upgrading and replacing water, sanitary, and storm sewer lines and decommissioning the existing combined sewer outfall in the Waterloo East sewershed boundary. The project will also include a new wastewater pumping station, forcemain, and a new storm sewer outfall. The stormwater system will be designed to withstand 100-year storm water levels.
The City of Charlottetown is offering financial help to residents looking to protect their homes from flooding. It was one of 10 municipal governments across Canada to receive a climate resiliency grant in 2022 from the Intact Foundation, which is connected to Intact Public Entities, a large insurance company that works with municipalities. "The issue of flooding has been something that we've been aware of for certain communities across Charlottetown," said Alistair Ozon, the city's water co-ordinator.
Jon Widney can't help but smile as he talks about the way students studying to be water treatment operators are being taught today. "It would have been an easier learning process, that's for sure," said Widney. Widney is an instructor in the water and wastewater operator program at Yukon University in Whitehorse. That process he's referring to is a new learning tool the university is developing in partnership with the Calgary NGO Water Movement.
The City of St. Albert plans to add a couple of new tools to its water-management tool belt over the next few years to counteract problems caused by the local beaver population. Melissa Logan, the city's environmental coordinator, said staff will install pond levellers in high-priority spots throughout Carrot Creek and the Sturgeon River, starting this summer. Unbeknownst to the estimated 16 individual beavers who call these rivers home, pond levellers allow water to flow through dams to prevent flooding, Logan said.
