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.
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 municipality of Brandon, Man., in partnership with Esri Canada, recently implemented the geographic information system (GIS) software ArcGIS Utility Network (UN), which allows the city to see, manage and share vital information about its water network in real time. As part of the city’s strategy to modernize asset management, “the transition has immediately paid dividends,” according to a release. “With UN, staff can now visualize the most current and accurate information on the city’s water network on a dynamic map. Edits to data done in the field are instantly updated in the system and on the live network map in the office.”
Water levels on the Assiniboine River and shorelines may create unsafe conditions in the weeks to come as outflow from the Shellmouth dam is increased, Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure warns. The water level is expected to rise by one to two feet between the Shellmouth Dam and Brandon, 160 km southeast of the dam. The expected rise is the result of water released from the Shellmouth Reservoir to make room for spring's flow.
Students at one of western Manitoba's biggest high schools will not be able to attend class on Tuesday. A water main break near École secondaire Neelin High School on Monday has temporarily resulted in no access to water and washroom facilities, the Brandon School Division announced in a memo. The division asks students to connect with their respective teachers remotely for online studies Tuesday, with the expectation of returning to classes Wednesday.
Snaking beneath Regina's streets are 600 kilometres of water mains built with asbestos-cement. That's about 60 per cent of some 1,000 kilometres of the mains that deliver water to homes around the city. Increasingly, some scientists and communities are questioning the wisdom in having drinking water flowing through pipes constructed from asbestos fibres.
The first phase of a multi-year upgrade of a municipal water treatment facility in Brandon, Man. is beginning this month. The project is kicking off with the construction of a dedicated chemical building connected to the existing water treatment plant. The new chemical building will consolidate the storage of chemicals and allow for a switch in the current disinfectant process from that of using gaseous chlorine to a safer one of using liquid chlorine sodium hypochlorite. In addition, the building has been designed with the capacity required to test the potential of orthophosphate dosing as a corrosion control method as it relates to the City of Brandon’s wider Lead Water Services Strategy. A new ring road providing access to the entire facility will also be constructed.
