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.
A Navy sailor, an Army colonel and an Army major are the first active-duty military members taking the initial step toward suing the U.S. government over jet fuel that contaminated drinking water in Hawaii. Navy Ensign Koda Freeman, Army Col. Jessica Whaley, and Army Maj. Amanda Feindt filed pre-litigation claim forms with the Navy late Monday, which will allow them to later file a federal lawsuit in Honolulu, their attorneys said.
Drivers in Fredericton can blame inflation — at least in part — every time they encounter a pothole. The soaring cost of goods and services brought on by inflation means the City of Fredericton needs to spend more money replacing its aging infrastructure, including roads, water pipes and buses. City treasurer Alicia Keating says inflation has meant infrastructure is not being replaced when it should, and the city is falling behind on its obligation to replace assets before they break.
Scientists have discovered a new and renewable source of water on the moon for future explorers in lunar samples from a Chinese mission. Water was embedded in tiny glass beads in the lunar dirt where meteorite impacts occur. These shiny, multicoloured glass beads were in samples returned from the moon by China in 2020. The beads range in size from the width of one hair to several hairs; the water content was just a miniscule fraction of that, said Hejiu Hui of Nanjing University, who took part in the study.
North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney wants to take polystyrene out of Canada’s oceans. Blaney introduced a private member’s motion to the House of Commons urging the government to ban both expanded polystyrene (EPS) and extruded polystyrene (XPS) from floating structures like docks. “Research suggests that dock flotation foam is one of the leading causes of plastic pollution in Canada’s oceans, lakes, and rivers,” Blaney says. “When microparticles become part of the aquatic environment, they are consumed by fish, dolphins, whales, and birds. They can also work their way into the food system. This is a critical threat to the ocean, the ecosystem, and to human health.”
The Alberta Energy Regulator says it's looking for an outside investigator to dig into a release of oilsands tailings water that wasn't made public for nine months. In a statement released Tuesday, the regulator said it's seeking a "qualified, impartial, third-party body" to consider how it notified First Nations, governments and other stakeholders about two releases at Imperial Oil's Kearl oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.
Ted Laking, the president of the Association of Yukon Communities (AYC), was in Ajax, Ont. earlier this month representing the Yukon at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) board meetings. Municipal leaders from across the country discussed a number of priorities for the federal abudget to be tabled Tuesday. According to Statistics Canada’s Core Public Infrastructure Survey, 14 per cent of municipal and water infrastructure and 12 per cent of municipal transportation infrastructure is in “poor” or “very poor” condition.
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority’s (TRCA) Heart Lake Conservation Park has received funding from the Government of Canada that will help create more community access to this valuable greenspace. On March 26, MP Ruby Sahota and TRCA CEO John MacKenzie were present at Heart Lake Conservation Park to make the announcement and recognize the vital work that will be accomplished with this investment support. As part of the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF), over $660,000 in federal government funding will go towards essential infrastructure improvements to strengthen accessibility, the use of the greenspace, and the overall visitor experience at this location.
Manitoba government is investing more than $15.3 million to support three key water and wastewater treatment projects in rural communities, Municipal Relations Minister Andrew Smith announced in Headingley on Monday. The money will go to projects in the Rural Municipalities of Headingley, Macdonald and West St. Paul, near Winnipeg. “Our government is proud to invest in water and wastewater treatment projects which improve the quality of life for local residents,” said Smith in a press release. “By ensuring safe, secure drinking water, these projects also provide environmentally sound wastewater management for our communities. We are pleased to fund these important projects in our capital region to ensure our water management systems are healthy and sustainable for years to come.”
Epcor began adding orthophosphate at its two local water treatment plants last week, two years later than initially planned, the utility confirmed with Postmedia. This treatment will create protective coatings inside pipes to prevent lead from leaching into drinking water, both for Epcor’s pipes and those of private property owners, in hopes of making sure lead concentration in water citywide meets Health Canada’s standards. It’s expected to take up to six months to take full effect.
For decades, starting in the 1950s and ’60s the City of Winnipeg laid hundreds of kilometres of asbestos cement pipes across the city. Now those pipes and the asbestos fibres within them are causing concerns. A recent W5 investigation has found there are 721 kilometres of asbestos cement pipes in Winnipeg, and 25 per cent of the water main networks is also made of the material.
W5 investigated aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. We spent several months trying to get to the bottom of two things: Where are these pipes, and is there asbestos in Canada’s water? We reached out and asked over 100 towns, districts and municipalities what types of pipes were in use, and whether there were maps of these networks.
Philadelphia officials say the city's water is safe to drink for now after a chemical spill in a local river. A pipe ruptured on Friday at chemical plant Trinseo PLC, leaking hazardous material into a tributary of the Delaware River, a source of water for millions of people. Officials asked people to drink bottled water, leading to empty shelves. But local authorities said later on Sunday there had been no contamination in the city's water system.
Jennifer Langlois, Liberty's mayor, said the village was lucky the water plant was saved. She said the rink was closed in 2019 because of structural issues and the cost of putting in ice. The village council had been discussing demolishing the building, but hadn't made a final decision. "Just one more thing that went by the wayside in the town." Kyle Mooney, Liberty's fire chief, said firefighters arrived within a couple of minutes of Shields calling, but it was clear the rink was beyond saving. He said crews focused on saving the water treatment plant. "It's a very vital part of our town. If we were to lose that we would have been in big trouble," he said, adding that investigators are trying to determine what caused the fire. Langlois the town's water treatment plant was operational by Sunday.
Some people living in Iqaluit's Brown Row condo units haven't had water or sewage services for several weeks. It was caused by heating issues and a city water shutdown that left some residents with frozen pipes during the coldest time of the year. Jaban David, the Brown Row condo board's president, said there is extensive damage to the condo units as a result.
David Galvin's water is running for the first time in nearly three months. The long-awaited repairs to pipes at 1083 Main St. E. in Hamilton began last week. While the water is icy cold, with the hot water not yet connected, Galvin said it's proof of what the tenants have been insisting since late December — the work could be done in a matter of days without anyone having to move out.
Over 500 kilometres of asbestos cement pipes run through Regina’s water utility system, according to findings from a W5 investigation. Due to their supposed durability and low cost, over two million kilometres of asbestos cement pipes could be found around the world at one point, with Canada being no exception. Asbestos was once considered a miracle mineral, being used in thousands of products for its insulating and fireproofing properties.
Last year was the hottest on record for the ocean, an upward trend only expected to continue as it wreaks havoc on coastal communities and spurs irreversible losses to marine ecosystems. Ocean warming has cascading effects, melting polar ice and causing sea-level rise, marine heat waves and ocean acidification, the United Nations’ panel of climate experts made clear on Monday. Sea-level rise has doubled in the last three decades, reaching a record high in 2021, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported. Rising seas, coupled with more extreme weather, are setting the stage for a perfect storm of flooding for coastal communities.
An audit of Halifax Water by the Halifax Regional Municipality's auditor general has found deficiencies in the utility's cybersecurity, including employees clicking links in emails. As part of the audit, an email purporting to be from a legitimate source with a link, known as a phishing email, was sent to 55 employees of the utility to test their awareness of security protocols. According to the report, 45 employees clicked a link in the email and provided their credentials. Three others clicked the link but did not submit their credentials. Auditor General Evangeline Colman-Sadd's audit looked at supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems and made 21 recommendations for improving security.
In 2015, the world committed itself to 17 global goals that became known as the Sustainable Development Goals with the intent of serving as a “universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity,” according to the United Nations. Goal 6, which commits the world to ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation, has been in the headlines ahead of the UN 2023 Water Conference which will launch the Water Action Agenda with commitments from countries across the globe to promote water security.
Communities along the Red River in Manitoba are bracing for another major flood this spring, even as some still have not finished repairing damage from last year's high water event. The Rural Municipality of Montcalm, which surrounds southern Manitoba communities like Letellier and St. Jean Baptiste, still has about $10 million to $15 million worth of repairs left to make, said Reeve Paul Gilmore.
