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.
Parts of British Columbia known for towering rainforests and endless days of winter precipitation are experiencing some of the driest conditions on record. Both the Sunshine Coast and east side of Vancouver Island face persistent water shortages as below-average precipitation fails to replenish reservoirs drained by the fall drought. “This is the driest fall season on record for all Vancouver Island hydroelectric watersheds,” said B.C. Hydro spokesman Stephen Watson.
With rain and snow forecast for British Columbia, it's finally time to bid goodbye to the province's long dry spell. Environment Canada is calling for just under 10 millimetres of rain in the Fraser Valley and about seven millimetres on parts of eastern Vancouver Island by early Saturday, but parched areas of the Sunshine Coast will have to wait a little longer for relief.
Residents in Guelph are currently forbidden from watering their lawns, and may be fined if they do. A number of regions in Ontario have implemented water restrictions due to the drier than usual weather. “We’re definitely in a dry spell, and as a result, we are using more water in terms of watering lawns and various activities,” said Mari MacNeil, environmental services at the City of Guelph. “Guelph is on an underground water base system. We need to be very careful about our water use.” Environment Canada said since the middle of June, southwestern Ontario has been drier than normal.
Winnipeg set a new record for the driest July since records began nearly 150 years ago in 1873. Rob Paola, a retired Environment Canada meteorologist who still follows weather and weather history in southern Manitoba, says the Winnipeg airport recorded 8.5 millimetres of rain this past July, when the 30-year average is 75.8 millimetres. That comes after a prolonged 21-month dry spell that has depleted groundwater sources and sucked the moisture out of the soil.
Residents of the regions around Belleville, Napanee, Madoc and north of Kingston, Ont., are being asked to conserve water after a dry spell resulted in low water levels. Quinte Conservation has declared a "Level 2 Low Water Condition" for the Moira, Napanee and Salmon watersheds. That means wells have water levels below normal for this time of year, and with warm temperatures and little rain in the forecast, levels could drop further, leading to serious water supply issue in the region.
