Nicole Hancock
Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony ...

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.

Indigenous community hosts full moon ceremony to heal Chedoke Creek

Rain in the forecast means Lake of the Woods water level likely to rise again

Rain in the forecast means Lake of the Woods water level likely to rise again

Rain in the forecast could increase the water level on Lake of the Woods again in the next few days, just as flood conditions were beginning to improve. As of Friday, the lake was 324.1 metres (1,063.3 feet) above sea level, just a few centimetres below its record crest of 324.31 metres (1,064 feet) above sea level reached during the flood of 1950, according to the Lake of the Woods Control Board. However, rainfall is expected to rise between five and 11 centimetres (two to four inches) over the next week, with most of the rise occurring over the weekend, says the board's most recent notice.

Blue-green algae now in five lakes in Halifax area

Blue-green algae now in five lakes in Halifax area

A jump in the lake is just the thing on a hot, summer day – but maybe not in some areas of these five lakes. The province is warning that blue-green algae has been spotted in five Halifax-area lakes and another three throughout Nova Scotia. “This year we haven’t had any reports of anyone becoming sick or any dogs being harmed by blue-green algae,” said Elizabeth Kennedy, the director of the water branch for Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change.

Volunteers clean up after Vancouver beaches left littered with trash

Volunteers clean up after Vancouver beaches left littered with trash

Dozens of volunteers cleaned up several Vancouver beaches Sunday morning after they were left littered with cans, bottles and garbage overnight. Beaches in Vancouver's Kitsilano neighbourhood and at English Bay, which are typically kept clean even during peak season, were both left with unusual amounts of trash on the hottest weekend of summer weather thus far. Locals who volunteered to clean up the mess said they were upset about all the trash. "I'm really disappointed to see it to be honest," said Kassandra Sison as she picked up litter at English Bay. "We're probably going to get at least half a dozen [garbage bags] if not a full dozen if we keep going."

Infrastructure fixes to halt floods on Peguis First Nation sorely needed, leaders say

Infrastructure fixes to halt floods on Peguis First Nation sorely needed, leaders say

All levels of government need to come together to help solve flood-related infrastructure issues on Manitoba's largest First Nation, community leaders said. "There is serious work to do," William Sutherland, Peguis First Nation's director of emergency management, said in an interview Sunday as the flood-battered community north of Winnipeg was toiling to again try and shore up structures, roads and homes as water levels rise from recent rainfall.

Rising flood waters force Peguis First Nation to declare state of emergency once again

Rising flood waters force Peguis First Nation to declare state of emergency once again

About a month after historic flooding on Peguis First Nation began to recede, the community in Manitoba's Interlake region is being hit hard by rising waters once again. A heavy downpour on Tuesday followed by runoff from drainage south of the First Nation led to flash flooding overnight on Wednesday, Peguis Chief Glenn Hudson says. By Thursday, the community had declared a state of emergency. Now, roads that had only been cleaned up from flooding last month are again overcome by water, Hudson says. River crossings have been flooded out. Some residents who had just returned home are once again pumping water and sandbagging. Others returned just to have to leave once more, he says.

Busy spring for Osoyoos Lake water quality group

Busy spring for Osoyoos Lake water quality group

It’s been a busy couple of months for the Osoyoos Lake Water Quality Board (OLWQB) with a shift to a new moorage, changing board composition and the annual yellow fish stencilling around town. The best news of all was the granting of a complementary berth at the Sunrise Marina for OLWQB’s 5.8 metre water quality monitoring pontoon boat by the Town of Osoyoos.

Jane Goodall returns to live events in effort to inspire hope, action on environment

Jane Goodall returns to live events in effort to inspire hope, action on environment

Jane Goodall says she's sharing a message of hope and a cry to action as she returns to the stage for live events. The scientist, who's best known for her work with wild chimpanzees in Africa, was in Calgary on Wednesday and was scheduled to give another talk in Victoria on Friday night. "It's my first trip to Canada in three years, because of the pandemic, and it's my third trip anywhere," Goodall said in an interview Wednesday before her Calgary event. Like many, she spent the past two-and-a-half years of the pandemic working from home and delivering her message online. "It was a grind," she said, "because we created virtual Jane and virtual Jane could do Zooms and Zoom interviews and attend conferences every day."

4 Metro Vancouver beaches closed to swimming due to high E. coli counts

4 Metro Vancouver beaches closed to swimming due to high E. coli counts

Health officials have closed a number of Metro Vancouver swimming beaches due to high levels of E. coli bacteria. Vancouver Coastal Health says English Bay, Trout Lake, Locarno Beach and Sandy Beach on Bowen Island are closed to swimmers because water samples contained E. coli levels that exceed recommended guidelines. Swimming beaches in Metro Vancouver may be required to close when a single sample finds E. coli levels exceeding 400 in 100 millilitres of water or the geometric mean of five days of samples surpasses 200 E. coli in 100 millilitres.

The 2021 heat dome in B.C. had wide-ranging impacts on marine life, scientists say

The 2021 heat dome in B.C. had wide-ranging impacts on marine life, scientists say

A new study in the journal Ecology suggests that last year's heat dome over the west coast of B.C. and Washington state may have "far-reaching" effects on the ecology of beaches, bluffs, inlets and river deltas, in addition to the impact on fisheries and cultural connections that the land, sea and sea life provide. The heat that descended on the West Coast last June not only killed 619 people, but also roughly a billion sea creatures, which baked to death as temperatures soared.

Slow spring melt means Milk River farmers may avoid another summer of water shortages

Slow spring melt means Milk River farmers may avoid another summer of water shortages

Just under two months ago, Elise Walker was sure her farm near the Milk River would experience another summer of drought conditions. But with a cool, rainy spring now in the rearview, things are looking much different. The native prairie has a nice green tinge, she said, and the rain keeps coming. "It makes a huge difference, considering how dry we've been the past 12 months," she told the Calgary Eyeopener Monday.

Researchers and Indigenous students learn about Grand River

Researchers and Indigenous students learn about Grand River

On June 15, grade nine students from Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP) and the STEAM Academy program donned their waders to join researchers Charles de Lannoy, Karen Kidd and Waterloo Biology Professor Mark Servos to conduct experiments in the Grand River. In its first year, this joint initiative led by McMaster University and the University of Waterloo, is a land-based experiential learning approach to science and engineering. The event is a pilot for a micro-credential course in which the students could eventually gain a McMaster University credit by the end of high school.

P.E.I. watershed groups planting trees in beaver meadows in new climate change project

P.E.I. watershed groups planting trees in beaver meadows in new climate change project

Three watershed groups on P.E.I. are planting trees in beaver meadows this summer, part of a new project to help deal with the impacts of climate change. In the Souris area, trees are being planted in a beaver meadow that is part of the Naufrage River system, created when beavers abandoned a dam there decades ago. The local watershed co-ordinator said not all Islanders will know the term "beaver meadow" but they likely would have seen them.

Commons could soon pass legislation to study environmental racism

Commons could soon pass legislation to study environmental racism

The House of Commons is close to adopting Canada's first-ever legislation on environmental racism — environmental hazards that disproportionately affect Indigenous, Black and other racialized communities. Bill C-226 comes up for a vote today and is expected eventually to pass through the House of Commons with the support of the Liberals, the NDP and the Green Party. Those parties hope the bill can be fast-tracked through unanimous consent and bypass several procedural hoops. That's not likely without the support of the two other opposition parties.

As water sources dry up, towns in southern Quebec sound the alarm

As water sources dry up, towns in southern Quebec sound the alarm

During an unrelenting stretch of dry, hot weather last August, Rachel Mahannah and her husband spent two hours a day hauling water from their other farm a kilometre and a half away, to make sure their dairy cows didn't get dehydrated. The well on the dairy farm, 70 metres deep, had almost run dry. "That was the first kind of red flag that came up for us," said Mahannah, who co-owns Mahvhays dairy farm in Brigham, Que., about 75 kilometres southeast of Montreal.

City reacts as EPA reduces safe levels of PFAS in drinking water

City reacts as EPA reduces safe levels of PFAS in drinking water

n the wake of news from south of the border that could eventually affect drinking water standards and their regulation in Canada, the City of North Bay is sharing its preliminary findings on the potential local impact. On June 15, the U.S.-based Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new advisories regarding some per- and polyfluororalkyl substances (PFAS), which significantly reduces the safe level of these microscopic chemicals in drinking water from the previous standard.

Wings Over Water documentary captivates audiences with a bird's eye view of the Prairies TELUS World of Science - Edmonton hosts Canadian premiere of 3D IMAX® film

Wings Over Water documentary captivates audiences with a bird's eye view of the Prairies TELUS World of Science - Edmonton hosts Canadian premiere of 3D IMAX® film

A stunning new nature documentary, Wings Over Water, will make its Canadian debut this Friday at the TELUS World of Science - Edmonton. The IMAX® film follows the migratory journeys of three bird species that make remarkable, and often harrowing, flights to the wetlands of North America's prairies to breed and raise their young. Audiences will be captivated by the stories of the sandhill crane, yellow warbler and mallard as they soar across one of the most important—yet little known—ecosystems on the continent.

Parks Canada to reopen Trent-Severn Waterway locks for navigation on June 24

Parks Canada to reopen Trent-Severn Waterway locks for navigation on June 24

Parks Canada will reopen locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway on Friday which were recently closed due to high water flows and water levels. The reopening will mean daytime navigation will begin at 9 a.m. on Friday, June 24. Since June 1, the Trent-Severn’s watersheds received significant amounts of precipitation, prompting Parks Canada to close some lock stations in the interest of public safety.

Algoma Public Health lifts water advisory following oil spill

Algoma Public Health lifts water advisory following oil spill

Algoma Public Health lifted its water advisory for everyone who draws water from the St. Mary's River, following an oil spill from Algoma Steel on June 9. "The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has confirmed that all remediation activities have concluded, with no visible sheen being present on the river," the health unit said in a press release. "Sampling does not indicate any current risk resulting from the oil spill."

Bear Street Redevelopment Wins Project of the Year at Water’s Next Award

Bear Street Redevelopment Wins Project of the Year at Water’s Next Award

The Bear Street Redevelopment Project in Banff, Alberta has captured two honours at the annual Water’s Next awards, held June 2nd in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Organized by Water Canada magazine, the annual awards recognize the best people, projects, and technologies in the national water landscape. There are 14 awards given out each year, with six categories for individual leaders, six for projects and technologies, and overall awards for both. The awards are judged by a third-party panel of established industry professionals from across the country.

Weyburn, Sask., to look into provincial assistance program after massive rainstorm Social Sharing

Weyburn, Sask., to look into provincial assistance program after massive rainstorm Social Sharing

A late-night rainstorm on Monday flooded streets and basements in Weyburn, Sask., causing serious issues for the town. Environment and Climate Change Canada said the local airport recorded 87 millimetres of rain, with other people in the area reporting 97 millimetres. The wet conditions meant flooded streets in the city's downtown and residential neighbourhoods.

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