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.
A town west of Calgary says it continues to truck in water from other communities to maintain its required levels. The Town of Cochrane has declared a local state of emergency after an accident Saturday affected its water and wastewater pipelines, causing sewage to flow into the Bow River. Officials in both Cochrane and Calgary, which draw water from the river, say the drinking water remains safe.
This cool and innovative fountain debuted just last year as a solo act and the reviews were so good it came back this summer as a group of six, with more dates available for Ottawa fans to enjoy. These mobile, seasonal fountains attach to local fire hydrants, are completely accessible and dispense the same reliable drinking water found in Ottawa homes.
Chief administrative officer Rob Armstrong said they sent water to be tested Saturday to determine if it was contaminated. “We do not believe it’s contaminated. This is to ensure the safety of the residents is in place,” Armstrong told Global News. “The municipality become concerned about water to fight the fire being mixed with burnt materials onsite being mixed with Georgian Bay being (nearby) and then, in turn, being close to our municipal water intake.”
The Hamlet of Fort McPherson, N.W.T., declared a state of emergency over flooding on Tuesday evening. In a post on Facebook, the hamlet said it made the decision because flooding from the Peel River had cut off access to the community's airport and because access to fresh water could be "inaccessible in the imminent future." Earlier in the day, the hamlet said an emergency would be declared once flooding cut off the community's access to Deep Water Lake — meaning it would no longer have access to its water or sewage services.
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.
Jackie Kloosterboer has worked with people caught in emergencies for more than two decades, and time and again she's seen how simple planning could have helped them through the catastrophe. Kloosterboer, who is the City of Vancouver's emergency planner, spent her summer working out of Chilliwack with her staff to help people who were forced to flee due to wildfires. A few months later, she was working out of Abbotsford to help those affected by flooding.
Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell says the reported "unbearable" fuel smell from the city's water treatment plant on Oct. 8 was from repair work on the fuel line for the water plant's boiler. Government of Nunavut emails obtained by CBC News through an access to information request show staff from the Nunavut Health and Environment departments inspected the water treatment plant four days before the government of Nunavut's "do not consume" order was issued on Oct. 12.
Halifax’s vanishing Williams Lake could fill up again with a little help from the city, according to nearby residents. The water level had dropped by about 1.3 metres since late May when The Chronicle Herald featured one of the city’s favourite swimming lakes literally drying up on its front page in early September. But now a potential fix is being investigated for a dam that’s allowing water to flow too quickly to the sea.
Eabametoong First Nation, an Ojibway community that sits about 360 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, passed a band council resolution declaring a state of emergency Friday after water test results showed levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) between 122 to 182 per cent above Health Canada safety standards.
Yesno said residents are also reporting a foul smell coming from the community's tap water.
