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.
Bottled water will be made available to "vulnerable populations" in Wheatley and Tilbury this week as a boil water advisory for the municipality stretches on following a fire last week. In a release, the municipality said the water will be distributed for free through the Wheatley Resource Centre and Tilbury Food Bank.
Some people are frustrated that a now months-long non-consumption advisory has yet to be lifted at the natural water spring in Wakefield, Que. Kristine Schwartz, a resident in Low, Que., has relied heavily on the water source since her township — about 20 kilometres from Wakefield — has faced boil water advisories on and off for the last two years.
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit says the water meets drinking water standards, but the advisory recommends residents use bottled water or another source of water for preparing baby formula for infants and food or drinks for young people. "I’m not bathing my grandchildren when they come over and I have to have bottled water," Casselman resident Jocelyn Butler-Rohland said on Sunday.
Tiny was also the first Blue Community in Ontario and third in Canada, as a municipality that recognizes water as a human right, bans the sale of bottled water in civic spaces, and supports the public ownership of water utilities. “In order to support this commitment and thanks to capital funding received from the Ontario Trillium Foundation 15 accessible and touchless water fill stations will be installed in the fall 2023 at 12 municipal parks (five beach parks and seven inland parks), including Lafontaine Park," Desroches told MidlandToday through email. However, without those water refill stations installed prior to the festival, Petitpas shared that La Meute worked to find a solution. “Getting water refill stations was a bit of a conundrum since no local company rents mobile water fill stations,” said Petitpas. “We got creative and will have big five-gallon water jugs with pumps (filled with municipal water).” Reusable water bottles with festival logos will also be sold at the all-day event.
Manganese levels were at a historic high earlier this week, reaching 0.45 mg/L, according to Mayor Geneviève Lajoie. They subsequently decreased to 0.35 mg/L on Thursday, still well above Health Canada's "maximum acceptable concentration" of 0.12 mg/L. That guideline is based on the possible risks for infants, who may be particularly sensitive to neurological effects.
Human waste is to blame for high levels of E. coli bacteria at First Lake in Lower Sackville, N.S., according to a report commissioned by the Halifax Regional Municipality. A popular beach on the lake was removed from the municipality's beach supervision program in 2020 because of high bacteria levels, so no lifeguards have been monitoring the swimming area and the water isn't regularly tested by the municipality.
The Cape Breton Regional Municipality water utility and wastewater departments are in process of becoming a regulated commission known as the CBRM Water and Wastewater Commission. It’s the first step by council towards establishing a new governance and operational structure for water and wastewater in the municipality. The changes planned will modify how the delivery of water and removal of wastewater are funded, according to a press release issued by the municipality.
Stormwater Master Plan (Phase 2) Public Information Centre #2 Wednesday, June 14th, 2023 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm Libro Community Centre, Woodslee Water and Wastewater Master Plan Public Information Centre Wednesday, June 28th, 2023 from 5:30pm to 8:00pm Atlas Tube Recreation Centre (Renaud Room) These events will also feature a Flood Aware education booth featuring staff who can answer flooding questions and share resources on Lakeshore’s Flood Mitigation and Protection Framework (FMPF) and subsidy programs.
A flash flood led the southwestern Manitoba municipality of Boissevain-Morton to declare a state of emergency Wednesday, a municipal councillor says, as the spring snow melt sent a torrent of water gushing over frozen farm fields and washing out roads. The municipality estimates that at least 70 per cent of roads in the southern part of Boissevain-Morton, which is south of Brandon, were unsafe for travel due to washouts and overland flooding, according to a Wednesday Facebook post.
Residents serviced by the Municipality of Victoria County's water utility will likely see an increase in their water rates over the next two years following a decision by Nova Scotia's utility regulator. However, the amount that rates will jump is still uncertain, as the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board wants the municipality to submit a new rate study after the board took measures to insulate customers against significant rate hikes this year.
Some people in the Municipality of Cumberland, N.S., could be paying 20 per cent more for water next year if a proposed merger goes ahead. The municipality wants to combine the water utilities of Parrsboro, Pugwash and Springhill into one utility, and applied for a rate increase for that one utility. Currently, the water services are all managed separately and keep accounting records separately. They file these records to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
Barrie’s residential tenants owe the city more than $323,000 in water and wastewater billing arrears. A recent report to City of Barrie council broke down the cost of running a decade-old municipal water billing program intended to make property owners fully responsible for any unpaid charges incurred by their tenants.
Halifax Regional Municipality has closed two supervised beaches to swimming until further notice because of high bacteria levels in the water. The municipality announced Saturday that bacteria levels at Kinap Beach in Porters Lake exceed Health Canada’s swimming guidelines. Friday evening, the municipality issued a news release saying Penhorn Lake Beach in Dartmouth had been closed. HRM regularly tests the water quality at all supervised municipal beaches, as well as two unsupervised beaches, during the summer.
The municipality of North Norfolk has declared a state of emergency after it was pounded by rain overnight Monday into Tuesday, causing flooding in the community of Austin. The municipality said in a Tuesday morning news release the local state of emergency was being declared after what it called an "unprecedented" amount of rain fell Tuesday morning. Austin was hit especially hard, said Theresa Bergen, chief administrative officer for the North Norfolk municipality, which is between Brandon and Winnipeg.
Most Calgarians are facing a 3.6 per cent hike on their property taxes this year — that is, unless you live in Shepard, about 20 minutes southeast of downtown, where residents are bracing for a 40 per cent increase. The area was annexed by the City of Calgary in 2007, and as part of the agreement, residents were given a 15-year reprieve before switching from tax rates set by Rocky View County — their previous municipality — to Calgary tax rates.
A weekend washout has cut the municipality of Red Lake off from the rest of northwestern Ontario. The washout at the Caribou Creek Bridge on Highway 105 occurred on Saturday, with high water flows completely washing away the bridge. "With the quick thaw that we've been having throughout the district, the ground remain frozen still," Red Lake Mayor Fred Mota told CBC News on Monday. "The water cannot seep into the ground, and therefore there's lots of runoff."
The municipality is hoping the second time’s the charm in securing a grant to help cover costs of upcoming water supply upgrades at Eagle Cliff. The neighbourhood is in need of an improved water supply, and steps to creating their own are too numerous to overcome. The main holdup would be rehabilitating the existing surface water reservoir, which is in need of serious repairs. As a result consultations between Eagle Cliff and Cove Bay local advisory committees (LAC) determined the best alternative was a hookup to the Cove Bay water system. 110 Eagle Cliff properties are set to join once the connections are made.
The Town of Westlock is banking on an $80,000 water distribution leak detection system to curtail the $270,000-plus it spent this year on water that never made it to residents’ taps. In 2021, the town lost 20 per cent of all the potable water it paid for from the regional water commission — $276,270 that, in essence, flowed into the ground. In a Dec. 20 interview, CAO Simone Wiley said the 20 per cent figure is an overall number, which counts everything from line leaks and breaks, to fighting fires and flushing hydrants — any water that isn’t metered. For example, the loss percentage spiked at 27.9 in January 2021 due to a handful of water main breaks and the massive Commerce Building fire, but sat at only 15 per cent in July.
Fort McMurray is more prepared for a flood than ever before, says a top official with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. All work on permanent flood mitigation is expected to be completed by 2023, Matthew Hough, the municipality's deputy chief administrative officer, told council Tuesday. "We are a more resilient community," Hough said, adding that he was struck by how much was accomplished this year.
The Municipality of Barrington has changed its Emergency Water Assitance Plan. In the past five years, the municipality has seen very dry conditions and according to CAO Chris Frotten explained the need for a change. “With extremely dry weather in the last five years, this is no longer an emergency. It is more of a new normal that we must all prepare accordingly for, ” Frotten said. Previously when homeowners in the municipality saw wells dry up they would be able to visit local fire halls that would provide them with potable water.
