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.
University biologists say striped bass that recently washed ashore in northern Cape Breton probably died from a sudden temperature change in the ocean. A video posted to the Port Morien Wildlife Association's Facebook page on Monday shows what looks like hundreds of dead fish in North Bay, near Dingwall, N.S. Trevor Avery, a biology professor and lead researcher with the Striped Bass Research Team at Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., said he doesn't know for sure what happened.
The consultants lay out targets for three phases of moon mining: First, getting water from the ice in the moon’s craters, to be turned into hydrogen propellant. Water is cheap on Earth, but as expensive as anything else to send to space—thousands of dollars a litre. Mining water that’s already up there to use as fuel would improve the economics of space exploration and travel.
Blue Massawippi, a non-profit based in the Eastern Townships, gets its name from the lake it's been protecting since it was created in 1968. These days, the group of volunteer conservationists watching over the Massawippi, one of three major lakes between Sherbrooke, Que., and the Vermont border, is in the fight of its life. "For the first time this year, in October, we found some zebra mussels on our collectors [in Lake Massawippi]," said Philippe-David Blanchette, one of the organization's directors.
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("AQN" or the "Company") (TSX: AQN) (NYSE: AQN) today announced that Liberty Utilities (Eastern Water Holdings) Corp. , a wholly-owned subsidiary of AQN's regulated utility operating subsidiary, Liberty Utilities Co. ("Liberty"), has successfully completed the previously-announced acquisition of New York American Water Company, Inc. ("New York American Water") from American Water Works Company, Inc. for a purchase price of approximately $608 million.
After spending about $700 to purchase new clothes for her family during November's floods, Abbotsford, B.C., dairy farmer Jimi Meier decided to help others similarly affected. "I just started thinking, that's just one family. There's so many more that are going to be affected. How can I help, being in a better situation?" said the Sumas Prairie resident. As the devastating flood waters rose and then receded, Meier's husband and sons stayed on the farm to care for the animals while she sought safety. While their home was not flooded, they had no access to running water.
B.C.’s opposition parties want the government to extend — for a second time — an approaching groundwater licensing deadline, warning of a looming crisis for local farms and small businesses. “We are just deeply concerned,” said Shirley Bond, the interim leader of the BC Liberal Party, in an interview. “We want them to extend the deadline, but additionally we want them to do a better job of getting the information out there and finding people who haven’t registered and help.”
University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Engineering graduate student Hayley Popick and her research team are investigating how contaminants generated from the City of Saskatoon may be affecting the water supply and ecosystems of the South Saskatchewan River. “Stormwater can be as polluted as untreated wastewater or sewage when it enters our natural water bodies,” said Popick.
The water plant in Gametì, N.W.T., is down until at least Tuesday afternoon when a technician is scheduled to come and fix it. Chief Doreen Arrowmaker said the residents of the community of about 280 have been advised to conserve water until at least then. According to Arrowmaker, the community's senior administrative officer posted on the community's Facebook page that staff completed all mandated checks with the relevant guidance from water plant inspectors but the problem wasn't solved. "In the meantime, please save your water as there will be no regular/call-out water deliveries until late tomorrow afternoon/evening," the post reads.
Curve Lake First Nation Chief Emily Whetung is optimistic there will soon be clean water in her community following Federal Court approval of a water class action settlement agreement on Dec. 22, which includes a commitment of at least $6 billion for safe drinking water on reserves and $1.5 billion in compensation for individuals deprived of clean drinking water. A 60-day appeal period follows the courts’ approval of the agreement, “so it’s the last piece,” Whetung said.
Montrealers can expect around 5 centimetres of snow today and a storm surge warning is in effect for Quebec City. Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said Fisheries and Oceans Canada issued a coastal flood warning in the Quebec region Sunday with higher than normal water levels expected near the coast in the afternoon and evening.
“You can imagine how terrible it is for me. I was out there, trusting the science, telling people that they should be drinking the water. I was drinking the water, my kids were drinking the water, you know, we’re bathing in it.”— Iqaluit Mayor Kenny Bell on initially telling residents that the city’s tap water was safe, when it was later found to be contaminated with fuel
Last summer’s drought shrivelled crops in Western Canada. Vast swaths of prairie — typically bright with golden stalks of wheat and yellow canola flowers in bloom — faded to brown. The worst in 60 years , it shrunk national wheat production by 38.5 per cent ; canola by 35.4 per cent. Almost all of the agricultural land on the Prairies (99 per cent) was still abnormally dry or in moderate to exceptional drought as of Nov. 30, according to the Canadian Drought Monitor . And Canada isn’t alone in experiencing a prolonged 2021 dry spell. Brazil faced the worst drought in nearly a century, causing coffee crops to fail and power costs to soar. Antarctica was the only continent unaffected by an otherwise worldwide drought .
With some jurisdictions limiting PCR testing for COVID-19 and others increasingly overwhelmed by diagnostic demands, experts have stressed that daily case counts no longer paint the full picture of viral levels within communities. But what we flush down the toilet may give us a better understanding of COVID-19's prevalence. Researchers across the country have been undertaking wastewater surveillance since early in the pandemic, looking for trace amounts of the virus in sewage to see how it's spreading.
It's probably not how you'd draw up the optimal water intake system. But when a pump at the Fort Providence, N.W.T., water treatment plant broke down in mid-December, local mechanic Cameron Sapp figured his decommissioned fire truck could fill in to do the job. "They come to me looking for a way to pump water," said Sapp, after hamlet crews had struggled to keep up with local water demand for about a week or so. "I gave them a few ideas."
P.E.I. will start offering free well-water testing beginning Jan. 1. Legislation requiring the province offer free testing was introduced during the fall sitting of the legislature by Liberal MLA Hal Perry. The bill technically came into effect when it received royal assent on Nov. 17. Under the legislation, Island wells can be tested once every two years at no charge for water chemistry, and once every six months for E. coli and coliform.
A recent court decision mandates billions of dollars be set aside to bring clean drinking water to a number of First Nations communities and to compensate community members who have lived for years under boil-water advisories and without access to clean water. In a joint decision, the Federal Court of Canada and Manitoba’s Court of Queen’s Bench approved an $8-billion settlement agreement.
In stormy weather, Jerome Kerivan finds himself wondering how much more pressure his eight-year-old home can take. “The last two to four years, there’s a lot more spray coming in over the breakwater that strikes the house,” he said of his sea-facing home near the Placentia lift bridge. “I get concerned. … What’s going to happen? The biggest concerns I have are the shingles and everything on the house.” The storms are more frequent and the winds are a lot stronger, said Kerivan, a retired fisherman. Like many other residents, Kerivan credits a seawall built decades ago following severe flooding in the 1980s with keeping Placentia — much of which is below sea level — protected from potentially devastating flooding.
Visitors will find the path adorned with nearly 60 ice lanterns and movable chairs to relax in. "It kind of becomes a living room on the Assiniboine River," said Borys. She said she hopes the site also helps people's understanding of the health and well-being of the city's rivers and the need to protect water. Last winter, Borys and her group of friends shovelled out a serpentine maze in the snow at the site, decorating it with frozen sculptures and donated art.
Textiles are the largest known source of microplastic pollution in the world's oceans — making up around 35 percent of microfibres released into the waters. Every time you wash your clothes, tiny fibres are released into the waste water. These fibres then travel into lakes, oceans and marine organisms. And while most of it becomes fragmented from wastewater treatments, a large volume still escapes and the long term effects of that are still largely unknown.
I am committed to supporting measures like more tree and native species planting, rain gardens and surface permeability. These all have multiple benefits, including increasing cooling shade during intense heat, flood prevention, and carbon sequestration. I’ve pushed to ensure when possible, these improvements benefit lower-income areas that need them the most, even if it might require a little more support from the city to water and care for the plantings. My goal is to make lives better for Burnaby residents while also mitigating or adapting to climate change. I am also looking forward to using existing levers like zoning to make housing more affordable, and so much more. It is very exciting.
