ICBC launches dirty car contest to promote water conservation amid drought

ICBC launches dirty car contest to promote water conservation amid drought

As the province deals with a dire drought, ICBC has launched a contest to try to incentivize people to conserve water by foregoing car washing. Announced on social media Friday, the auto insurer is inviting people to submit photos of their dirty cars in order to be eligible to win prizes. "Is your car dirty? Leaving it to the rain to 'wash' it? Keep it that way for your chance to win!" an Instagram post announcing the contest says.

P.E.I. regulator strips licence from 'high-pressure' water treatment sales company

P.E.I. regulator strips licence from 'high-pressure' water treatment sales company

A P.E.I. regulator has cancelled the licences of Maritime Home Services and its salespeople to sell products door to door on the Island, saying letting the business continue to operate here "would reduce public confidence, expose Island consumers to potential harm or exploitation… and not be in the public interest." Maritime Home Services is also known as Atlantic Environmental Systems Inc. The Nova Scotia company's salespeople promote water treatment equipment, sales and services.

Repairs to Chisasibi hospital hemodialysis unit force patients south for much of the summer

Repairs to Chisasibi hospital hemodialysis unit force patients south for much of the summer

Issues with low water pressure and an "outdated' water supply in the hemodialysis unit at the Chisasibi hospital have forced the relocation of several Cree patients from northern Quebec to Montreal for much of summer. Displaced since mid-July, some of those affected say they are frustrated by delays and say the hemodialysis facility in Chisasibi has long been too small, inadequate and has had an issue with mould.

Bruce County mayor who resigned apologizes for 'ignorant, insensitive' comments about First Nation

Bruce County mayor who resigned apologizes for 'ignorant, insensitive' comments about First Nation

A day after resigning as mayor of South Bruce Peninsula, Garry Michi has apologized for his comments about a local water treatment plant and people in the First Nation community in Ontario. "I deeply regret the words I used during a personal conversation and the subsequent impact they have had," said Michi in an email to CBC News.

Canada, USA, UK and China top list of foreign owners in Australian water market

Canada, USA, UK and China top list of foreign owners in Australian water market

Canada, the USA, China and United Kingdom are the largest foreign owners of Australian water. A new report, released by the Australian Tax Office (ATO), will show that foreign ownership of water increased by 0.3 per cent in the year to June 2022. It shows that Canada holds 2.1 per cent of all Australian water entitlements, the USA 1.8 per cent, with China and the United Kingdom each holding 0.8 per cent.

Kingston residents asked to stop dumping grease down the drain

Kingston residents asked to stop dumping grease down the drain

Utilities Kingston has launched a new video campaign reminding residents and restaurants to stop dumping cooking grease down the drain. The YouTube video shows a utility worker wading through murky, knee-deep water to clear a sewage blockage inside a sewage pumping station. "It's toilet waters and solids, anything going down someone's kitchen sink or coming out of someone's washing machine," said Heather Roberts, director of waste and water services for Utilities Kingston, describing the water in the video.

Alberta scientists tracking blue-green algae blooms using satellite imagery

Alberta scientists tracking blue-green algae blooms using satellite imagery

A team of experts is working to better understand the spread of blue-green algae in Alberta lakes by combining satellite technology with near-simultaneous water sampling. The project, funded through Alberta Innovates, is a collaboration between several groups, including Alberta Lake Management Society (ALMS), the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI), and researcher Rolf Vinebrooke from the University of Alberta.

Bruce County mayor resigns after accusing First Nation in Ontario of being 'poor and unclean' in recording

Bruce County mayor resigns after accusing First Nation in Ontario of being 'poor and unclean' in recording

The mayor of South Bruce Peninsula has resigned after he was caught on tape making racist comments about a nearby First Nation community, the Ontario town announced in a statement Tuesday. Garry Michi was recorded in an audio clip posted Friday by an anonymous individual questioning the federal government's decision to fund a water treatment plant on the Chippewas of the Nawash Unceded First Nation, also known as Cape Croker. 

New Glasgow legionnaires' disease outbreak declared over by Public Health

New Glasgow legionnaires' disease outbreak declared over by Public Health

A legionnaires' disease outbreak in New Glasgow, N.S., has been declared over, says Public Health. In a news release issued Tuesday morning, the department said there have been no new cases in several weeks. Ten cases were previously confirmed by laboratory testing, and 22 were considered probable.

Japan's discharge of radioactive water into Pacific Ocean unlikely to affect B.C., scientist says

Japan's discharge of radioactive water into Pacific Ocean unlikely to affect B.C., scientist says

On Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. PT, Japan initiated the release of radioactive water from a nuclear power plant managed by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), more than a decade after the facility sustained catastrophic damage. On March 11, 2011, the Fukushima Daiichi plant was devastated by a massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake that triggered powerful tsunami waves, resulting in the meltdowns of three of its reactors. This incident stands as one of the most severe nuclear catastrophes in world history.

Scientist drank water that is billions of years old and explained what it tastes like

Scientist drank water that is billions of years old and explained what it tastes like

Although most of us would gag at the thought of drinking water that’s been left sitting out for days on end unless we were desperate, the same can’t be said for the scientists involved in an incredible study. In 2013, scientists from the University of Toronto discovered the water over 1.5 miles beneath Earth’s surface, left isolated from the outside world for millennia in Timmins, Ontario, Canada. Most people would probably agree that this isn't a liquid for drinking, and is between 1.5 billion and 2.6 billion years old. But apparently professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar isn't most people. As lead researcher, Lollar tried the water and herself and judging by her reaction, it tasted just as nasty as it sounds.

Nunatsiavut government monitoring after fuel spill in Nain harbour

Nunatsiavut government monitoring after fuel spill in Nain harbour

The Nunatsiavut government says it's testing water and fish samples after a fuel spill in the Nain harbour as the local Inuit government is calling for accountability. The Canadian Coast Guard said it received a report that on Aug. 19, the MV Keewatin was transferring fuel aboard near the main dock when diesel spilled into the Labrador Sea. The coast guard said a boom and other material was released to try to contain the spill.

Canada's lakes are becoming less blue — but that could be good for fish

Canada's lakes are becoming less blue — but that could be good for fish

If you drive the Icefields Parkway through the Canadian Rockies, you'll pass multiple turquoise-coloured lakes that are popular with tourists for taking photos. The lakes get their iconic colour from rock flour, which is similar in appearance to baker's flour used for making bread. Rock flour is made from glaciers grinding rocks into powder, which can take thousands of years. 

Botwood's brown, dirty tapwater problem could take years to fix

Botwood's brown, dirty tapwater problem could take years to fix

Every morning, Sherri Anderson, checks the tapwater in her Botwood home to see if it's clear. More often than not, she says, it isn't. "When it's not, my husband runs the hose outside and lets the water run for hours, sometimes more than a day, until the water is clear," she told CBC News in a recent interview. Those were the instructions she received from the town council.

Extreme weather costs are pushing rural Ontario towns to the financial brink

Extreme weather costs are pushing rural Ontario towns to the financial brink

The mayor of Glencoe, Ont., says the cost of cleaning up and repairing the damage from Wednesday's deadly rainstorm has pushed his rural community to ask the province for financial relief. Environment Canada said Wednesday the town received 135 millimetres of rain during a downpour that turned driveways into ponds, roads into streams and filled basements with sewage.

Epcor tackles flooding mitigation as climate change challenges Edmonton's water supply

Epcor tackles flooding mitigation as climate change challenges Edmonton's water supply

Edmonton's utility company, Epcor, plans to start building a concrete wall and berms around parts of its water treatment plants at Rossdale and E.L. Smith — both in the North Saskatchewan River floodplain — to help protect the region's water supply. Construction on the flood mitigation project is slated to start next year with a budget of $65 million, with about $22 million coming from the federal and provincial governments.

Teen dead after being swept into storm tunnel during heavy rain: Toronto fire

Teen dead after being swept into storm tunnel during heavy rain: Toronto fire

A teenager was found dead Friday after he reportedly got caught in a storm drain tunnel in a Toronto park during heavy rain overnight, fire crews say. Toronto fire officials say they received a call around 1:20 a.m. reporting a person being swept into the water at Earl Bales Park, the site of a large stormwater management pond in North York. They say an 18-year-old who was with the boy at the time of the incident was able to get out of the water safely and was treated at the scene.

Judge orders redo of 'unreasonable' Yukon Water Board decision to deny permits to placer mine

Judge orders redo of 'unreasonable' Yukon Water Board decision to deny permits to placer mine

A judge has ordered the Yukon Water Board to reconsider a land use approval and water licence application from a Dawson-area placer operation. Yukon Supreme Court Deputy Justice Adele Kent, in a decision last month, wrote that the board's denial of Fellhawk Enterprises Ltd.'s application in 2022 was unreasonable and based on ungrounded speculation.

Italian tourist says he was poisoned by tap water at Quebec wildlife reserve

Italian tourist says he was poisoned by tap water at Quebec wildlife reserve

An Italian tourist who says he ingested bleach while drinking tap water at a Quebec wildlife reserve is considering suing Quebec's provincial parks agency (SÉPAQ) for failing to warn him and his family that the water wasn't potable. Emiliano Piccinin says he, his partner and their eight-month-old daughter started feeling sick not long after they got to their cabin near Étang-à-la-Truite, a lake located in the Matane Wildlife Reserve, on Aug. 14.