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.
When wildfires threatened Lytton First Nation in 2021, Warren Brown was essential in protecting his community’s water supply by staying behind—as others evacuated to safety—to ensure the water treatment plants remained up and running. He wanted to do everything he could to ensure his community had safe and clean drinking water to come home to. Warren’s commitment to caring for his community’s clean water supply continues to play a significant role in protecting their health and safety.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government has released a new plan aimed at improving drinking water safety in the province. The provincial government said from 2017-2022, there have been an average of 191 boil water advisories, which affected 146 communities and about 44,000 people. In comparison, there were 350 boil water advisories throughout the province in 2001.
Once salt permeates a drinking water system, it tends to remain there unless treated by a cost-prohibitively expensive system which also robs drinking water of healthy minerals. So describes City of Greater Sudbury water treatment manager Julie Friel while reflecting on the city’s latest annual water quality report, released earlier this week.
Grand Falls-Windsor will see the construction of a new ultraviolet disinfection building. This new infrastructure will benefit the community by increasing its capacity to treat and manage wastewater while meeting the provincial effluent quality requirements. Residents of 9 other municipalities will also benefit from upgrades to their wastewater infrastructure including new and improved lift stations, and water and sewer main replacements. In addition, 12 municipalities will see improvements to their drinking water systems which include the rehabilitation and expansion of water supply mains and connections, new hydrants for improved fire safety, a new pump house building in the Town of Jackson's Cove-Langdon's Cove-Silverdale, and a new chlorination system in the Town of La Scie.
