Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

city staff

City, province investigate oil spill in Humber River, clean-up to begin Thursday

City, province investigate oil spill in Humber River, clean-up to begin Thursday

Officials from the city and province are investigating an oil spill into the Humber River in northwest Toronto this week and say efforts to clean up the spill by the company responsible are expected to begin on Thursday. Toronto Water, the Ontario Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks and its Spill Action Centre are investigating the spill into the river southwest of Finch Avenue West and Weston Road. There's no word yet on the amount that was spilled, but the ministry said it is machine oil.

Whitehorse city staff seek $2.3 million for landslides cleanup, repair and precautions

Whitehorse city staff seek $2.3 million for landslides cleanup, repair and precautions

Whitehorse city staff have asked council to approve $3.15 million in capital funding to pay for costs associated with the recent landslides in the city, and to start engineering designs to fix a water line and a sewer line. Staff asked for $2.3 million to cover the costs associated with the landslides. So far, the city has spent $1.6 million on building a protective berm on Robert Service Way, inspections, engineering and security, but more bills are expected for the cleanup, repair and precautions put in place.

Kawartha Lakes to investigate Woodville water capacity

Kawartha Lakes to investigate Woodville water capacity

The City of Kawartha Lakes is looking for some clarity on the village of Woodville’s future capacity for expansion. At a Committee of the Whole meeting, on Tuesday, January 11th, councillors voted to have city staff create a report for council, regarding “an update on water service capacity of the existing system in the Village of Woodville.” The motion, brought forward as a memorandum from Ward 4 Councillor Andrew Veale, also stated, the report should include information on “existing capacity availability for future development, and the feasibility of service expansion, including existing test well capabilities and use.”

City recreation staff no longer assigned to water emergency

City recreation staff no longer assigned to water emergency

The City of Iqaluit’s recreation staff are back at the Iqaluit Aquatic Centre and the gym is open after they were reassigned on Dec. 1 to help with the water emergency. It remains unclear when the city will make other moves to return to normalcy, following a water emergency that lasted nearly two months, caused by the discovery of diesel fuel in the city’s water system. During that time, Iqalummiut were under a do-not-consume water advisory due to fuel contamination. On Dec. 10, the Government of Nunavut lifted that advisory.

Don't drink the tap water, Iqaluit mayor tells residents

Don't drink the tap water, Iqaluit mayor tells residents

A state of emergency has been declared in Iqaluit after city staff found evidence of fuel contamination in the city's treated water supply. The water is unsafe to drink, even if filtered or boiled, according to the municipality. In an interview with Nunatsiaq News Tuesday, Mayor Kenny Bell said every part of town was affected, whether water is delivered by pipes or by trucks. "It's everything. Any treated water," he told the paper.

Toronto councillors look to resurrect stormwater charge proposal after years of flooding and delays

Toronto councillors look to resurrect stormwater charge proposal after years of flooding and delays

After significant floods have swept through parts of Toronto three years in a row, washing out roadways, subway lines and basements, the idea of a stormwater charge is back on the table. The city staff proposal to make property owners pay for water runoff and the required infrastructure upgrades to deal with it was shut down by Mayor John Tory in 2017, when his executive committee sent it back to staff for more work. Giorgio Mammoliti, who was on council at the time, had incorrectly branded the charge as a "roof tax" that spurred opposition and Tory compared implementing the plan to trying to "unscramble an egg."

Changes to city's drinking water licence will likely affect construction and traffic

Changes to city's drinking water licence will likely affect construction and traffic

Ottawa’s construction and development industries will likely be affected by changes to the city’s drinking water licence that come into effect with province-wide changes on Monday. The changes may also affect traffic because water mains will take longer to connect in the right of way, Kevin Wylie, the city’s general manager of public works and environmental services, wrote in a memo to city council.

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