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 state of local emergency has lifted in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, east of Vancouver, just days after it was issued when problems at the local water treatment facility put water availability at risk. A statement from Mayor Ed Wood says two pumps are now in full working order at the plant and an external backup pump is also available, if needed.
About 77 millimetres of rain fell on Ottawa in a matter of hours, according to Environment Canada. That's more than any other Aug. 10 on record, but surrounding regions saw even more, receiving between 80 and 110 millimetres. At the storm's peak, Hydro Ottawa reported 24,000 customers without power. Mycah Katz was practicing a drag performance in the basement lounge of his condo building when the power cut out.
“We dispatched staff from the Town of Innisfil to the impacted flood areas this morning to assist with diverting water away from homes and communicating with residents in the affected areas,” Nicole Bowman, director of operations said in an email. “Our crews are still on site diverting the water and we will continue to update residents through our website and social media channels.”
The operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant began tests on Monday of newly constructed facilities for discharging treated radioactive wastewater into the sea, a plan strongly opposed by local fishing communities and neighboring countries. The tests at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant use fresh water instead of the treated water, operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said. Plant workers examined pumps and emergency shutdown equipment at the newly constructed seaside facility, which will dilute the treated water with large amounts of seawater. The diluted water then enters an undersea tunnel and is released into the ocean about 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the coast.
"When I hear the rain and I know it's going to be a big one, I come to check this," Peter Gleeson says, motioning toward the drainage system in the floor of his garage. "I have two permanent pumps, and four more." Gleeson is in the habit of preparing for the worst. He and his neighbours in Montreal's Mercier-Ouest neighbourhood have repeatedly dealt with flooding and sewer backups.
For only the second time on record, huge pumps have been set up in Upper Quinsam Lake west of Campbell River to ensure there is enough water in the region’s waterways to allow salmon to spawn and to protect new spawning beds at risk because of the ongoing drought. Pumps started working Friday to send water through several hundred metres of pipes into neighbouring Wokas Lake to maintain the current river flow rate. The lakes are connected by a channel.
Husky Energy says 900,000 litres of produced water spilled from one of its pipelines in northwestern Alberta. Produced water is a byproduct of oil and gas extraction and sometimes contains residual petroleum and chemicals. Spokesperson Dawn Delaney says the spill is contained and the company is continuing to clean it up with pumps and vacuum trucks. She said there has been no observed harm to wildlife and fencing has been put up to keep animals away.
