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.
The Detroit River's reputation has become notorious over the decades due to pollution, but local scientists say restoration efforts are working, and they want to see those improvements reflected in the river's environmental status. The Detroit River has served as one of the vital economic links between Detroit and Windsor. In 1987, it was identified as an area of concern under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement between Canadian and American federal governments.
Feelings of overwhelming fear and anxiety hit Alicia Hennessey, Amanda Dunfield and Jennifer Moore every time a rainfall warning is issued for their area. The women are neighbours and live with their families on Stannus Street in downtown Windsor, N.S. — their homes three in a row. For years they've each dealt with repeated flooding caused by problems with the town's combined sewage and storm water system.
Lake Pisiquid near Windsor, N.S., which refilled with water following a provincial emergency order last month, won't be drained again anytime soon, according to Premier Tim Houston. "The lake will remain full because that's in the interest of public safety and that's just the way it is," Houston told reporters following a cabinet meeting in Halifax on Thursday. "We will not allow that lake to drain."
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) is warning swimmers not to go in the water at Sandpoint Beach in Windsor and Lakeshore Lakeview Park West Beach. The agency launched its annual testing program this week — taking samples from eight local beaches. Beach water samples grabbed by inspectors at Sandpoint and in Lakeshore showed high bacterial counts of E. coli.
Nancy Basinger says she saw little ripples of movement inside a bucket of water from her bathroom, and she almost couldn't believe her eyes. The downtown Windsor, Ont., tenant says she immediately called over a friend to take a look at what she thought were little tiny fish swimming in her water. But she says she's since had them identified by a researcher as crustaceans — aquatic invertebrates known as amphipods.
The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) released its report cards for the watersheds in the region, and while some results are positive, ERCA concluded some areas need improvement. The report cards, which are given based on five years of data collection, are given out by conservation authorities across Ontario using standardized methodologies to grade surface water and groundwater quality and forest cover, according to Katie Stammler, a water quality scientist with ERCA.
Windsor city officials are calling on the federal government to help with the rising costs of flooding mitigation projects in Windsor's east end. Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens, Ward 6 Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac and Windsor West MP Brian Masse want the federal government to invest money in the city's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) for city sewers and water projects as part of Windsor's flooding and sewer master plan.
The company has partnered with 13 Mi'kmaw bands in the province under the auspices of Wskijnu'k Mtmo'taqnuow Agency Ltd. Environment Minister Tim Halman's approval comes with conditions for both projects, including stipulations concerning water, wildlife and habitat, air, noise and the visual impact, public engagement, contingency planning and site reclamation.
Shukin said power lines "can only carry a certain amount of power" and the IESO giving the green light on the turbines means the lines had room to transmit more power. He said Capital Power has done studies on "noise, air quality, storm-water management, natural environment, heritage, and socio-economic factors." Shukin said the company is "committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2045" and the turbines, which can be partially powered by hydrogen, support that objective.
In the wake of erosion, efforts are underway to protect a section of shoreline on the Detroit River in Windsor. The work is happening at the foot of Mill Street near HMCS Hunter and Queens Dock Park. Windsor's harbourmaster, Peter Berry, explained that exceptionally high water levels in some recent years caused flooding near the shore and there was an "incredible amount" of erosion.
Ontario’s labour ministry is investing a workplace injury that occurred Tuesday at the Lou Romano Water Reclamation Plant in Windsor. A ministry inspector has been assigned, but few other details about the injury or who was involved have been released by the ministry regarding the incident that occurred at the city’s sewage treatment plant on the city’s west end off Ojibway Parkway. “It was reported that one worker sustained an injury while operating machinery,” said a ministry official who indicated the investigation remains ongoing.
After years without fluoride, parts of Windsor-Essex will have the mineral added back into drinking water systems Wednesday. This week, residents in Windsor, Tecumseh and LaSalle will have fluoride flowing into their water systems for the first time since 2013. Fluoride had been added to the water in Windsor for decades, but in 2013, city councillors voted to discontinue its use.
A Windsor-based engineer said climate change is taking a toll on the health of the Great Lakes and this could in turn have an impact on the quality of drinking water for millions of people. Saad Jasim, who is also president of the International Ozone Association, said the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes is quite visible in the form of harmful algal blooms. "But it's not just the way it looks, these algal blooms produce some fatal toxins … there are different species of those toxins [and] unfortunately only one of the species is regulated by Health Canada," Jasim told CBC Windsor.
Work is underway to make changes to Nova Scotia's Avon River to allow freshwater to be pumped to Ski Martock for their snowmaking guns. For years, water has been pumped from the river to the ski hill, which is located near Windsor. But in March, a federal ministerial order stated gates at the river causeway were to be kept open for longer periods to allow for the passage of fish. As a result, water levels receded drastically and there was no way water could be pumped to the hill.
Region's top doctor says oral health has suffered without fluoride. If all goes to plan, fluoridated water will be flowing from local taps this fall for the first time in years, according to the top public health doctor for Windsor and Essex County. Dr. Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of health, said that the planned reintroduction of fluoride into the water supply was delayed due to studies done by Enwin Utilities Ltd. water division to ensure that it wouldn't impact ongoing lead control efforts.
According to the report presented to WUC, the additional testing is primarily necessary to determine how fluoride will interact with the phosphoric acid already present in the system as a mechanism to prevent lead from leaching into the water supply. "WUC will be the first known water utility to add fluoride to the drinking supply which already contains phosphoric acid for purposes of lead mitigation," reads an excerpt from the report. "While other utilities have both additives … no other utility (in North American based on research to date) is known to have fluoride added subsequent to the addition of phosphoric acid."
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada's director of consumer and industry relations for Ontario, it might not be worth it to sign up for a new, optional sewer and water line warranty program introduced last July by the City of Windsor. "Rather than going out and purchasing another policy, we recommend that consumers, homeowners, contact their own insurance company and see if, A, this coverage is part of their current policy, or, B, can they add it on as an optional coverage," said Pete Karageorgos, with the Insurance Bureau of Canada.
