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 major leak in Whitehorse's sewage system was repaired mid last week, but the extent of the procedure's environmental impacts are still unknown. The Marwell Lift Station, which acts as a conduit for the majority of the city's wastewater and sewage, was recently closed for a week to allow crews to investigate and fix the leaking pipe. During that time, the city opted to temporarily include bypass valves to dump a large volume of raw sewage into the Yukon River.
Whitehorse residents are being asked to limit their water use while crews work on repairing a damaged sewer main near the Yukon River. The city shut down the Marwell Lift Station and began to discharge wastewater into the river through bypass valves early Tuesday. While working to fix the leak, crews found additional damage.
The City of Whitehorse is asking residents to minimize water usage for the next couple of days as the city repairs a leak in the sewage line. Starting tonight at midnight, the Marwell Lift Station will be taken offline so crews can diagnose and repair the leaking pipe. Oshea Jephson, the city's communications manager, said in the meantime, bypass valves will discharge wastewater into the Yukon River.
