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.
With global water demand set to outstrip supply by 40 per cent by 2030, achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 (“ensure access to water and sanitation for all”) requires a call for urgent action to resolve the chronic supply-demand imbalance for freshwater resources, particularly as climate change, robust population growth and rising geopolitical tensions work against us in the fight for global water security.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission says its latest soil, water and air sample study again shows areas around BWXT Nuclear Energy Canada’s facility in Peterborough are “protected” and do not pose health risks. As part of its operating licensing renewal agreement, areas around the Monaghan Road facility are tested annually for levels of uranium and beryllium. Among sites tested include Prince of Wales Public School across from the facility.
Malki was one of several Pierrefonds-Roxboro residents who received a visit from the borough's mayor, Dimitrios Jim Beis, Tuesday. Beis went door to door with police officers and members of the local fire department, distributing flood preparation pamphlets, explaining what to include in an emergency kit and making sure anyone who lives near the waterfront has a three-day plan in the event their neighbourhood floods this spring. "First of all, it's how to protect their home and belongings," Beis told CBC. "We distribute sand bags. We've even created videos on how to protect your home and your basement windows … how to protect important documents."
Not even water? No, not even water. I feel like fasting Muslims should buy merchandise with this phrase so they can point to it as needed. Ramadan is the ninth month in the Islamic calendar. It marks a 29- to 30-day period — depending on when the next moon is sighted, signalling the beginning of a new month — in which observing Muslims abstain from eating or drinking between the Fajr prayer (which occurs when dawn breaks) and the Maghrib prayer (which occurs when the sun is fully set).
On Wednesday, students at Claude E. Garton Public School took part in a school-wide fundraiser to walk for clean water in First Nation communities. Classes took turns completing a two-kilometre walk inside the school to acknowledge the labour required by members of some Ontario First Nation communities to access clean water. The initiative emerged from a social studies unit in the school’s Grade 3/4 French immersion class studying the province’s access to clean water. The students learned that some Ontario First Nation communities, such as Attawapiskat First Nation, do not have reliable access to clean drinking water and require a two-kilometre walk to access it.
For the past 14 years, Andrew Brant and many others on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory have had to haul all their water to their homes one jug at a time. His arms, and those of most fellow residents, will get a well-deserved break as the southeastern Ontario First Nation west of Kingston lifted five long-term water advisories on March 28 as they expanded connections to a new water treatment plant. The advisories had been in place since 2008.
Although this summer in British Columbia is forecast to be cooler and wetter compared to 2021, experts say the need to conserve Metro Vancouver's water supply is more important than ever. While a cool, damp spring has made the recent introduction of lawn watering restrictions appear unnecessary, such measures are required to preserve the region's water supply through to the end of summer. Unlike last year, when a deadly, record-breaking heat dome settled over the province in June, the hottest time in 2022 is predicted to be mid-July to mid-August, according to Environment Canada — when reservoir levels are much lower.
The benefits of conserving wetlands for wildlife and recreation have long been established, but emerging research is determining that wetlands are a powerful climate mitigation tool. Already recognized as one of the most effective ecosystems at trapping and sequestering carbon and proven to act as a strong natural defence against flooding in the face of extreme weather, new research suggests we can add climate-cooling to the impressive list of wetland benefits.
Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan have published the latest coronavirus wastewater data, showing a downward trend in Saskatoon and North Battleford, but also a jump of viral load in the Prince Albert wastewater. Scientists from the university's Global Institute for Water Security continue to monitor wastewater from Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert for the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) load of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Forward Water Technologies (TSX-V:FWTC) Inc has announced a strategic partnership for the North American market with water technology company Aquaporin. Under the agreement, Forward Water will sell Aquaporin's unique biomimetic forward osmosis membranes for applications associated with lithium mining and extraction and water management within the oil and gas industry.
An entourage of Canadian coal mining executives pressed into the Lincoln County commissioners’ conference room last week to deliver promising news for Lake Koocanusa, the 80-mile long reservoir that straddles the U.S.-Canada border in Montana and British Columbia, and which has been at the center of both statewide and international efforts to reduce transboundary environmental pollution for more than a decade. “Selenium levels in the Koocanusa Reservoir are safe,” according to a PowerPoint slide summarizing a March 30 presentation by representatives of the global mining company Teck Resources, who made the trip to Libby to deliver the news in person.
The mayor, Michel Angers, says he can't make information about the plant's problems public because the city is considering legal action. Grégoire's husband, Eric Bonfanti, wonders whether a push to save money led the city to choose the wrong firm to design the plant. He wants the mayor to make expert analyses public so he can judge for himself. "Most people aren't idiots,"' Bonfanti says. "'If you made a mistake, admit it!"
Some Montreal merchants who were upset about major upcoming repair work on a stretch of Notre-Dame Street West in Little Burgundy, are hoping their summer terrasse season can be salvaged. This comes as the Sud-Ouest borough has tweaked its schedule to wrap construction a bit early. Work to fix the street's 100-year-old water main between Vinet and Atwater Streets will begin as planned in mid-April, but will end before the end of June, instead of stretching into July.
Vertical farming software meticulously manages climate, irrigation and LED light luminance to control crop cultivation much more efficiently than outdoor or greenhouse farming, removing guess work from growing. “The amount of water we use on an annual basis is less than five per cent of what it would be in a greenhouse,” Krochmalnek told CTV News Toronto. “In a greenhouse, you have to water multiple times a day. We water twice per week. Our crop success rate is 99.5 per cent in terms of the yield we expect versus what we get, every harvest. That makes vertical farming very predictable,” he added.
BlueTriton officials stressed there is no plan to increase water taking for bottling and their operations in Wellington County are not impacting surface water levels. The conglomerate, which bought Nestle Waters Canada in 2021, held an annual engagement meeting earlier this week on technical data gathered from Jan. 1 to Nov. 15 last year. The former company also held these meetings with stakeholders from local municipalities and water organizations.
Indigenous Services Minister Patty Hajdu hopes Canada will be able to lift its remaining long-term drinking water advisories by 2025 – the year a deal between the NDP and the Liberal government is set to expire. Hajdu has declined to put a firm deadline on the commitment since coming into the role last fall, saying there are many technical challenges with the task.
The Dehcho (Mackenzie River) is already moving near Fort Providence, and in the communities of Fort Simpson and Fort Good Hope where the river is still frozen, community members are not waiting for disaster to strike — many have lifted their homes and have begun to move valuables to high ground. Floods in May last year were "the scale of something that just had never been anticipated," said Fort Simpson Mayor Sean Whelly.
When he first started, Perkins admits he got into trouble with provincial and municipal officials who he says were worried about the volume of water on his land. Jonathan Platts with Ducks Unlimited Canada works with landowners who want to build wetlands from scratch, as Perkins has done. "Constructed wetlands, starting them from scratch, and doing them right, I think you can still have very productive wetlands and ones that can certainly compliment your property and help wildlife," said Platts, who lives on P.E.I. and is the new head of wetland restoration for Ducks Unlimited in Atlantic Canada.
Homes in Sachs Harbour are once again getting water deliveries after the community went without for over a week, and some households had to rely on bottled water and other sources of potable water. On March 23, after signs of fuel contamination were found in some trucked water, people in the community were asked to switch to bottled water and other sources if they'd had a water delivery since March 21.
Funding will support the construction of a new 300,000 gallon water reservoir to serve Stratford's growing community. Work will include the construction of the reservoir and the associated piping, valves, and appurtenances alongside the existing water reservoir. Once complete, this project will ensure residents have improved and reliable access to potable water and keep pace with the commercial and residential development of the community.
