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.
Runoff from a massive industrial fire in Etobicoke on Friday has left dead fish and ducks in a Toronto creek, the Ontario environment ministry said on Monday. Some of the ducks in Mimico Creek that have survived the runoff have been coated in an oily sludge, according to the Toronto Wildlife Centre.
They say true love conquers all — except maybe a mechanical issue in a heart-shaped pond. On Monday, visitors to Toronto's Love Park experienced that first hand, when the pond's water turned bright green. The strange sight at the park, which opened late last month, is happening because of a mechanical malfunction, a city spokesperson said in an email. "City staff are working alongside both Waterfront Toronto and the contractor to address the issue and ensure the pond returns to working order as soon as possible," Bradlee Bomberry said.
Flooded streets, destroyed basements and a GO Train stuck in so much water that passengers had to be ferried to dry ground in inflatable boats — 10 years after Toronto was pounded by a record-breaking storm, many can still remember where they were when it happened. The storm on July 8, 2013 saw at least 300,000 Toronto residents hit with power outages and about 1,400 passengers stranded for hours on a train filled with water. It also highlighted the need for more investment to help prevent flooding.
Jenifer Redsky and her sisters run Oceah Oceah — a First Nations paddling company with a mission to connect people “with and to water” in Tkaronto (Toronto). “As an Indigenous woman, we’ve always been taught that we have a special connection to the water,” said Redsky. “My sisters and I really believe that by doing the work that we do, by giving people lessons, teaching them the skills, bringing them down to the water, we’re increasing people’s connection to the water, their relationship to the water, how they treat the water and how they protect it alongside us.”
Best of the Best Water Taste Test at ACE23 is decided by a panel of judges who participated in a blind taste test. Comprised of trained water flavor profilers, the judges’ panel ranked the City of Miramichi in New Brunswick, Canada as the first-place winner, with the City of Grand Junction in Colorado following in second place, and notably the City of Raleigh in North Carolina claiming third.
The Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) warned people to stay away from the Lower Don River after rising water levels near the Don Valley Parkway and Bayview Avenue due to the heavy rainfall. Water levels remain dangerously high throughout the city as Toronto saw two-thirds of a month’s rainfall in 18 hours. Pearson Airport saw 31 mm of rainfall on Monday, breaking the previous daily record for June 12 that was set in 1954.
A group of engineering students says it's found a way to make drinking fountains available year-round in Toronto, and is calling on the city to pour out the funds to make that vision a reality. The solution sprang from a University of Toronto class project on technology for global development, where five students were tasked with finding a way to make drinking fountains operational throughout the year.
For the second year in a row Niagara's tap water has been named the best in the province. As part of the Ontario Water Works Association's Annual General Meeting Niagara entered the Taste Test Competition for tap water. The competition allows delegates to sample water from across the province and cast their vote. Niagara's sample taken from the Rosehill Water Treatment Plant in Fort Erie helped the region capture the top spot for the second consecutive year. Joe Tonellato, Director, Water-Wastewater Services says "Congratulations to the Water and Wastewater team at Niagara Region, and those at the Rosehill Water Treatment Plant for being selected as Best Tasting Tap Water. It validates the tremendous work being done by our staff at Niagara Region." The Region will now be compete at the American Water Works Association Best of the Best Test in Toronto in June.
It’s been a busy few years at the Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant (ABTP) where the outfall is being upgraded to better handle storm surges and population growth demands, but the end is in sight. The ABTP is the second largest plant of its kind in Canada and one of the oldest, dating back to 1917 with the outfall constructed in 1947. It is one of Toronto’s four water treatment plants. The scope of the work is complex and extensive, adding a new outflow pipe to take discharge further into Lake Ontario after treatment by a new ultra-violet sanitization system.
It’s been nearly one week since local officials learned the federal government chose Winnipeg over Sault Ste. Marie as the host city for the Canada Water Agency (CWA) headquarters. Disappointed by the decision, members of the CWA task force in town remained hopeful the Sault could still have some involvement with the federal agency by hosting a regional hub.
A report from Environment and Climate Change Canada said Ontario and Quebec have the poorest water quality in Canada, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “Calculated trends using data from 2002 to 2020 show no site with improved water quality,” said the report. “During that same period, water quality deteriorated at 24 sites.” Water quality showed no improvement in the past two decades because of raw sewage dumped into waterways. Regional waterways with worsening quality included Ottawa’s Rideau River, Toronto’s Humber and Don rivers, and Quebec’s Chateauguay, Jacques-Cartier, and la Petite Nation rivers.
A busy downtown Toronto intersection will be closed for at least two weeks while crews repair a water main that burst over the weekend. King Street West is closed between York and Simcoe streets, and University Avenue is closed between Adelaide Street West and Wellington Street West. The city says that work to fix the water main will take place around the clock. The affected pipe is cast iron and was originally installed 140 years ago, says Bill Shea, director of distribution and collection for Toronto Water.
Toronto residents are being warned to be careful around rivers, streams and shorelines due in part to rain this week that could cause water levels to rise. The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority is urging the public to be cautious around all bodies of water because of changing water levels in rivers in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto is expected to see rainfall amounts of 10 to 15 millimetres on Wednesday. That amount is on top of the drizzle that fell on Tuesday.
A London conservationist is hoping people hooked on fishing will use his do-it-yourself receptacles to recycle their lines and keep them from harming wildlife. "It's a lot of litter," said Brendon Samuels, a Western University PhD candidate and coordinator of Bird Friendly London. The tube stations Samuels hopes take of will give fishers a way to recycle their fishing lines after use. The units are designed to keep plastic fishing lines out of London's waters, where fish, animals and birds and get tangled. Small parts such as fishing hooks are also a hazard to smaller animals.
First Nations Chiefs, community members, and representatives came together with federal bureaucrats at the Ontario Joint Gathering hosted by Indigenous Services Canada in Toronto on Oct. 25 and 26. The two-day gathering at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto was an opportunity to strengthen relationships between the Canadian government and First Nations governments, with a series of Federal and First Nations speakers reporting to delegates. Over 45 participants registered over the two days, with 100 attending virtually.
Durham Region has halted work on a road rebuilding project after neighbours complained they stumbled upon contaminated waste in the new road bed. Work was shut down on the rehab project in Clarington, 100 kilometres east of Toronto, about two weeks ago. A consultant was called in to check what crews had been using in a lower layer of the rebuilt road. "I was picking up syringes, batteries, pieces of metal, razor blades," local farmer Andrew McVey said this week. "There's all kinds of crap ... various garbage that I felt should not be part of what's being buried in the road "
An innovative way to bring clean water to indigenous communities is being installed in homes at a reserve not far from Toronto. The project is an early step in a plan that advocates hope will eventually spread across Canada. “Water is a basic human right no matter how rich or poor we are, where we come from, what the colour of our skin is we all deserve clean drinking water,” said water rights advocate Autumn Peltier.
Just two hours outside Toronto, more than 2,000 households on Six Nations of the Grand River live without a basic human right: clean water. Some residents can’t simply fill up a glass at their taps and drink, take a shower, or bathe their children without worrying about the water being contaminated. “We’re doing our best to progress our community as best as we can. But there comes challenges,” said Chief Mark Hill. “One of those challenges is the access to clean drinking water, potable water.”
Meanwhile, attendees at Kingston Music Festival in North York, Ont., posted videos over the weekend of concertgoers rushing toward the stage after pushing down the fence separating general admission and VIP sections. Some attendees complained of a lack of water at the venue in the midst of a heat wave. Representatives for Kingston Music Festival did not respond to requests for comment.
Canadians are making progress on moving away from single-use plastics by using fewer disposable straws and relying on reusable bags, water bottles and mugs, according to data from Statistics Canada. The new figures come from Statistics Canada's biennial Households and the Environment Survey, which questioned 38,000 households in 2021 on topics such as energy consumption and hazardous products used at home.
