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.
Epcor began adding orthophosphate at its two local water treatment plants last week, two years later than initially planned, the utility confirmed with Postmedia. This treatment will create protective coatings inside pipes to prevent lead from leaching into drinking water, both for Epcor’s pipes and those of private property owners, in hopes of making sure lead concentration in water citywide meets Health Canada’s standards. It’s expected to take up to six months to take full effect.
