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.
Canada Excellence Research Chair
Water quality researcher and engineer Dr. David McCarthy has been announced as the new Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Waterborne Pathogens: Surveillance, Prediction and Mitigation at the University of Guelph, supported by $8 million in federal funding over eight years. McCarthy brings his expertise in mitigating the risks of waterborne pathogens with tools and technologies to U of G where he will join the School of Environmental Sciences within the Ontario Agricultural College.
Researchers at the University of B.C. have discovered a way to filter microplastics out of water using biodegradable forest byproducts such as bark and wood dust. Scientists at UBC’s BioProducts Institute found that if they added tannins—natural plant compounds found in unripe fruit and a popular additive in wine—to a layer of wood dust, they could filter out nearly all microplastic particles from water.
Dr. Jeffrey McDonnell (PhD) says he is “bursting with gratitude” after being awarded the title of distinguished professor. McDonnell—the associate director of the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) and a professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask)—was one of seven USask faculty members to be named a distinguished professor in 2022.
