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.
Effective since October 1, 2023, C3 Water Inc. ("C3 Water"), joined CIMA+, one of Canada's largest privately-owned consulting engineering firms. "This acquisition is in line with CIMA+'s growth strategy throughout Canada, with a particular focus on sustainable engineering and Ontario's needs.", said Steeve Fiset, Chief Strategy Officer, CIMA+.
Engineers must design with the risk of flooding in mind. But my research shows that if we also design with the concept of rain as a precious resource and plan to soak it up, floods will do less damage. These design ideas bring many co-benefits including cooling spaces in hot summers, cleaner air and healthier bodies, resilient food and flower gardens and access to more green space, which is accepted as beneficial for our mental health.
Burns Lake and two other municipalities will share a $10 million investment for building three new water and wastewater projects under Canada’s infrastructure environmental quality program. Burns Lake’s old sewage treatment plant and electrical equipment have reached the end of their service life and will need to be replaced, and this grant will be invested into this project.
Water levels in the Oldman River reservoir are the lowest they've ever been since its construction in the early 1990s. The reservoir and the river are responsible for supplying water to a number of local communities, including Lethbridge. The City of Lethbridge said in a release that while there's no immediate danger of being left without an adequate supply of drinkable water in the city, the lower-than-average water levels across southern Alberta is something they are watching closely.
"The ocean is an unforgiving place," says Susan Hunt. "But our technology is designed to operate there - it goes up and down in the waves, all day and all night." Ms Hunt is chief innovation officer for a Canadian start-up called Oneka Technologies. It has developed floating desalination systems that turn seawater into fresh water. While large, shore-based desalination plants typically require vast amounts of energy to remove the salt, Oneka's small units are powered solely by the movement of the waves.
At the bottom of a slope in a dense Montreal neighbourhood, there's a new park with benches, an open field and a playground — along with two small pedestrian bridges. When there's heavy rain, water rushes down the streets and sidewalks into the green space, forming a small lake beneath the overpasses, in a carved-out area filled with grasses, shrubs and rocks. In the days that follow, the water slowly seeps into the soil and stormwater system. It's all been engineered to prevent flash flooding in nearby streets and homes, while nourishing the vegetation in the park.
The water temperatures are getting colder, and for sea turtles, this could be bad news. If a sea turtle ends up in water that's 10 C or below, it could become cold-stunned, which is similar to hypothermia but for turtles, according to April Nason, the education and outreach co-ordinator for the Canadian Sea Turtle Network in Nova Scotia.
Widespread drought across the Lake Winnipeg watershed has forced Manitoba Hydro to operate its Brandon generating station months before the depths of winter, when the natural gas-fired plant is usually put into service as a last resort. The Brandon station, which usually only operates during peak periods of cold-weather demand, has been running since late October, Manitoba Hydro said Friday in a statement.
The federal government says it's signed its first major nature agreement with a province and First Nations to mutually support protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030. In Vancouver on Friday morning, federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault joined B.C. Premier David Eby, several cabinet ministers from both governments and First Nations leaders to announce a $500-million commitment from both governments for an agreement that would help conserve and protect land, species and biodiversity in the province.
The cost of extending water and sewer services to the future site of CentrePort South has risen by nearly $13 million in three years. A City of Winnipeg estimate in 2020 guessed the project would cost $61 million, with the Manitoba government announcing last year it would cover up to $40 million. Reasons for the increase include inflation in the construction industry, and the need to reroute a main feeder line due to an Indigenous burial mound, according to a report to the finance committee on Friday.
A state of local emergency has lifted in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, east of Vancouver, just days after it was issued when problems at the local water treatment facility put water availability at risk. A statement from Mayor Ed Wood says two pumps are now in full working order at the plant and an external backup pump is also available, if needed.
A historic deal signed Friday will protect 30 per cent of B.C.’s lands and waters by 2030. The Trilateral Framework Agreement was signed between the federal and British Columbia governments and the Indigenous-led First Nations Leadership Council. With this agreement, the federal government will be contributing $500 million and the B.C. government has dedicated more than $500 million, which includes a fund for old-growth forests and the opportunity for additional funds from the philanthropic community. The agreement includes a commitment to work together toward protecting 25 per cent by 2025, including on Indigenous protected areas.
Last Thursday, I took part in the House of Commons Environment Committee hearings into Canada’s freshwater resources. Appearing before us were representatives from Health Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Global Affairs Canada. As you can imagine, the issue of freshwater resources is an immense and complicated—but extraordinarily important—subject, so the conversation was lively and illuminating. Indigenous Services officials were, of course, asked why there were still 28 First Nations communities with boil-water advisories eight years after the government promised to fix the huge problem of neglect they found when taking office. Most of these problems go back much further than eight years. For example, the Neskantaga First Nation in Ontario has been on a boil water advisory since 1995. While some of these situations face jurisdictional and engineering challenges, we can all agree they would have been fixed much more quickly in non-indigenous communities.
The threat of invasive mussels has led the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) to propose a potential temporary ban on all out-of-province boats entering B.C.'s waterways. James Littley, deputy administrator for the OBWB, said two species of freshwater mussels — zebra and quagga mussels — could be catastrophic to lake and river systems if stringent measures aren't put in place to keep them out of the province.
A state of local emergency has been declared in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, east of Vancouver, as two of three pumps at the community's water treatment plant have failed. A statement from Mayor Ed Wood says the availability of water for drinking and firefighting could be at risk. He says the water treatment plant is operating normally on a single pump and a backup external pump has been rented, in case the third one fails.
Yet, Canada’s important task is to move from a supplier country with restricted access to global energy markets, to an energy and resources powerhouse known worldwide as the market leader in responsibly produced oil, natural gas, uranium, wind, hydropower, lumber, and agriculture. It will take continued hard work but make no mistake; we have most of the pieces already in place. We’re missing the policy framework that will take us from a restricted supplier to a market leader.
A coastal First Nation’s Guardian team is gearing up to test the waters to try to limit the impacts of drought in their traditional territories on northeast Vancouver Island. The We Wai Kai First Nation's environmental stewards are partnering with other local groups to map and monitor wetlands, watersheds and streams on Quadra Island as summers get hotter and drier, said Guardian program manager Shane Pollard. Drought in the northeastern Vancouver Island water basin, which includes We Wai Kai territory and Quadra Island, is increasingly common.
Most of the world’s drinkable water is contained in freshwater lakes. Although it may seem like the amount of freshwater is small compared to saltwater, and it is, there is still a lot of fresh water in the world. To help you better understand the presence of fresh water in the world, we’re going to look at the 12 largest freshwater lakes in the world. These are the largest bodies of water that are not brackish or saline!
The lawsuit states that they checked into the beachside US$800 per night hotel without incident. When they realized they ran out of water on November 18, they called the front desk, and an employee delivered five bottles of water. Jane went to bed and reached for a bottle of water in the middle of the night. After taking a sip, she knew something was wrong and notified hotel security and management. She initially assumed it was a chemical contamination before suspecting it was semen.
An Indigenous group has raised a large traditional tent on the lawn of Parliament Hill to celebrate a program that places agents known as “guardians” across Canada to care for lands and waters. The communal tent, known as a shaputuan in the Innu language, was organized by the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, a group that advocates for the guardian program nationally and promotes Indigenous-led conservation efforts.
