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.
Halifax Water says emergency repairs have been completed on a Duffus Street wastewater pump station in Halifax. In a release Thursday, the utility says operations have returned to normal after three pump failures in two months. The pump started operating Wednesday evening and was monitored overnight. Wastewater and stormwater are now being pumped from the Duffus Street station to a wastewater treatment facility on Upper Water Street rather than flowing into Halifax harbour.
The Halifax Regional Municipality is warning of a blue-green algae bloom at Penhorn Beach in Dartmouth. The city is warning people not to swim in the lake and to keep pets out as well. Lake users are urged to take the following precautions: Avoid water contact. If contact occurs, wash with tap water as soon as possible. Do not swim or wade (or allow your pets to swim or wade) in the water. Avoid consuming water from the lake. Avoid consuming fish from the lake.
After opponents stopped the project last year, chemical spraying to wipe out an invasive bass population in Miramichi Lake is set to take place later this summer. Last year's attempt to eradicate smallmouth bass was halted because Wolastoqey grandmothers and mothers concerned about the environmental impact of the spray took to the lake in canoes. It is unsafe to spray rotenone, the fish-killing pesticide being used, when people are on the water.
Blue-green algae blooms in parts of Lake of the Woods can change the appearance of the water and these blooms have the potential to cause some harm to pets or people who choose to take a drink or a swim. Blue-green algae blooms are common in parts of the lake, which straddles Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota. However, they are generally not seen late in the year or in some of the locations they are now being found. As well, the blooms can be toxic.
As temperatures across Canada continue to rise, few things do a better job of keeping us cool than going for a swim. But with the closure of public swimming pools across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many may be left wondering how safe it will be to return to these spaces once they reopen. According to Matthew Miller, a biochemistry professor at McMaster University in Hamilton who is studying the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 is highly unlikely to be transmitted through water.
Public washrooms are open at five Ottawa beaches, but don't take that as a sign it's safe to go back in the water. "The water is not open," said Mayor Jim Watson during a teleconference Wednesday. "We're not testing it and there are no lifeguards." Seasonal washrooms are open at Britannia Park, Andrew Haydon Park, Westboro Beach, Mooney's Bay Beach and Petrie Island Beaches, the city said.
