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 teenager was found dead Friday after he reportedly got caught in a storm drain tunnel in a Toronto park during heavy rain overnight, fire crews say. Toronto fire officials say they received a call around 1:20 a.m. reporting a person being swept into the water at Earl Bales Park, the site of a large stormwater management pond in North York. They say an 18-year-old who was with the boy at the time of the incident was able to get out of the water safely and was treated at the scene.
“While we all hoped and prayed that water levels would have dropped to more manageable levels by now, after nearly three weeks, they have not. In fact, the level has continued to rise.” Major concerns include containing sewage due to flooded septic systems on Nellie Lake, the threat to potable water due to contamination and concerns for the safety and well-being of volunteers assisting with the flooding.
With warming temperatures increasing the likelihood of rising water levels, British Columbians are encouraged to prepare for potential spring floods, while the Province, local governments and First Nations work together to keep people and communities safe. High-elevation snowpacks have not yet developed to the point that increased heat will cause significant runoff. At this time, forecasters are not anticipating a flood hazard over this current warming period for rivers lying in higher elevations, including larger rivers such as the Fraser River.
Water levels are beginning to rise in parts of New Brunswick, with two communities already under a water-level advisory and another one set to move to a watch by weekend, according to the province's River Watch website. An water-level advisory is two metres below flood stage, and a water-level watch is one metre below, according to the site.
A flood warning remains in effect for the Rideau Valley watershed following Wednesday's ice storm. Many in the Kemptville area have properties under water. Mark Visser's front lawn is completely flooded. "You move stuff off the floor… hopefully it won't get wet and you hope for the best," he said. Rising water levels, coupled with an ice storm and the immediate melt pushed the Rideau River higher.
Beneath our feet there is an invisible ocean. Within the cracks of rock slabs, sand and soil, this water sinks, swells and flows — sometimes just a few feet under the surface, sometimes 30,000 feet below. This system of groundwater provides a vital supply for drinking and irrigation, and feeds into rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Across the globe, it contains 100 times as much fresh water than all the world’s rivers and lakes combined.
A fragile and rare ecosystem in Kelowna is changing forever as the community grows around it. Robert Lake, just south of the Glenmore landfill, is unique for the salt content in its water. It provides a refuge for birds and amphibians rare in the B.C. Interior. The lake has no outlet and used to completely dry up “quite regularly,” according to Ian Walker, the vice president of the Friends of Robert Lake Society and retired biology professor at UBC Okanagan. “You'd often go past and you can see these little roll winds of white salty dust kind of blowing around,” he said. But for the past four to five years that hasn’t happened and increasing water levels are creating problems for nearby property owners, the City of Kelowna and the animals that rely on the lake.
An Antigonish County couple's 11-year battle over property damage related to the twinning of Highway 104 has finally come to a close after they received nearly $600,000 in compensation from the province. Jane DeWolfe and Kevin Partridge have lived in their log home along the bank of the South River in Lower South River, N.S., for 40 years. They swam in the river, taught their kids to swim in it, fished and boated in it. They've watched cranes raise their young on the riverbank, and when the turtles climb ashore to dig holes in their gravel driveway to lay eggs in, they don't mind one bit.
Freshwater scientists and biologists in B.C.'s Cowichan Valley say marine life in the area is thriving this spring, with the combination of heavy rainfall and late spring thaw resulting in higher water levels in rivers and other waterways. "For river levels, generally at this time of year we like to see ... seven to 15 cubic metres per second. This year, we're running about 30," said Tom Rutherford, the executive director of the Cowichan Watershed Board. He said in his 30 years of experience, he's never seen water levels this high.
A state of local emergency has been declared in the southern Manitoba city of Morden as rising water levels forced dozens of people from their homes, the city's mayor says. Brandon Burley said so far, about 50 residences have been affected, but that number is expected to rise amid a rainfall warning in place for much of the southern half of the province. Flood crews are keeping a close eye on the area's watershed, which was already high after significant rainfall last weekend. That rain melted accumulations of snow from a storm last month.
After a long winter, Easter weekend is a great time to get outside to enjoy the warming weather. But if adventures in the great outdoors are part of your weekend plans, please ensure you stay clear of waterways around OPG hydroelectric facilities. Recent snow melt, combined with spring precipitation, has the potential to cause rising water levels. High water flow, melting snow and ice, and unstable banks along waterways can be especially dangerous at this time of year.
Leaders from B.C. and Washington state say they have reached an agreement to work together on redeveloping a flooding prevention plan and response for the Nooksack River. Flooding in southern B.C. and northern Washington in November displaced an estimated 500 people south of the border and about 14,000 were forced to flee their homes on the Canadian side. Rising water levels in the Nooksack contributed to flooding on the Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford and resulted in billions of dollars of damage to the province’s agriculture industry. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says in a release that flooding will continue to worsen in the face of population growth, development and climate change, and a long-term approach on both sides of the border is needed.
