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.
The developer of a senior living complex planned for Fall River, N.S., will review a study it conducted for the project's new sewage treatment plant amid concerns from residents about their drinking water, Nova Scotia's Environment Department says. The department ordered the review after residents of Thomas Drive told CBC they weren't informed about the planned outfall into Thomas Lake, from which 11 homes on the street draw drinking water through a small filtration system.
As summer temperatures rise, Canadians may have trouble finding a place to cool off in the sweltering heat for reasons ranging from E.Coli in British Columbia to shark sightings in Nova Scotia. It’s an especially hot summer, with heat warnings by Environment Canada for many cities across the country in July. Temperatures are creeping above 30 degrees Celsius. Some Canadians have even been evacuated from their homes due to wildfires, like the one in Lytton, B.C. this month.
The completion of several apartment buildings in Winnipeg is in limbo because the city is running out of the water meters it normally provides developers. The city says a shortage of small-diameter water meters has left it unable to meet the demand for the devices, which developers install in order to monitor the water usage of individual apartment tenants or condominium owners. River Heights-Fort Garry Coun. John Orlikow said he fears the resulting occupancy delays will lead to new costs for developers, deprive the city of property-tax revenue and leave tenants who have signed leases without a place to live.
If you're heading to a beach for a cool-down swim, make sure you check if there are any water-quality advisories in your area. A few beaches in New Brunswick have registered high levels of E. coli and enterococci as most of the province is under a heat warning, with temperatures in the low 30s but feeling like up to 40 C. Oak Bay Provincial Park near St. Stephen has had a no-swimming advisory in place for more than a week. Parlee Beach and Murray Beach near Moncton are both also not suitable for swimming.
Eight sea cans full of plastic water bottles are being sent from Iqaluit to Montreal for recycling at the end of July. Hundreds of thousands of bottles of water were flown into Iqaluit during the city's water crisis last fall. A fuel contamination in Iqaluit's water supply meant the city's approximately 8,000 residents were unable to drink the tap water for two months.
Heavy rainfall in the Kenora area has slowed the drop in the Lake of the Woods water level. Municipalities in the Lake of the Woods watershed struggled with heavy flooding in recent months. The Lake of the Woods Secretariat, in its most recent update, stated the lake's level remains above its 2014 peak, but is below the record level set in July 1950. With recent rainfall in the area, and forecasted precipitation in the coming days, the lake is expected to rise slightly before resuming its drop, the secretariat said.
Canadian lakes are in hot water over climate change, a new research survey has concluded. "Canadian lakes are warming twice as fast as the rest of the lakes globally," said York University biologist Sapna Sharma, a co-author of a paper published in the journal Bioscience. Sharma and her colleagues pored over 143 studies from around the world to try to summarize how climate change is affecting the globe's 100 million lakes. Lakes that have been ice-covered at least part of the year are experiencing the biggest changes, they found.
Heading to the beach? You’ll want to stay out of the water at Bluffer’s, Centre Island, Kew-Balmy and Marie Curtis Park as of July 20 at 3 p.m. Here’s the latest beach water quality report from Toronto Public Health: Bluffer's Beach (1 Brimley Road South) tested unsafe for swimming on on July 19 Centre Island Beach (Toronto Islands) tested unsafe for swimming on on July 19
Today, Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, and Gabriel Atwin, Chief of Kingsclear First Nation, announced federal funding for further development of the Southside Subdivision in Kingsclear First Nation. This funding will allow for Phase 5 of the Southside Subdivision to move forward. It will involve clearing a wooded area to continue the construction of Muwin Crescent and extending the existing municipal water, sanitary sewer, and roadway for the development of an additional 28 building lots. Once complete, this project will provide residents access to both reliable water and wastewater infrastructure and support further residential development in the community.
A project that will help the town of Okotoks and Foothills County secure a long-term water supply will receive a provincial grant of $15.9 million, Alberta Minister of Transportation Prasad Panda announced Wednesday. The project, a water pipeline that will feed from where the Highwood River meets the Bow River into water treatment facilities in Okotoks and Foothills County, will receive the funding through Alberta's Water For Life program. "It's still a little surreal that we're here. I always knew we would get here, but we've had lots of stops and starts," said Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn, who was elected to the top job last November but sat on town council for the previous eight years.
The province is advising people and animals to steer clear of Spruce Sands beach after a sewage spill occurred nearby, causing elevated E. coli levels in the water — a stinky problem for beachgoers. Manitoba Health says the spill occurred in the rural municipality of Gimli on July 15, when a sewer line damaged during routine ditch maintenance began affecting local water quality. The E. coli levels are currently at 16,756 E. coli per 100/ml — more than 83 times the recreational water quality objective of 200 E.coli per 100/ml, according to a sample collected in the section of Lake Winnipeg on Tuesday.
Canada has officially banned single-use plastics, specifically plastic bags, straws, cutlery, stir sticks, six-pack rings and some takeout containers. Manufacturers have until the end of 2022 to stop manufacturing them, and until the end of 2023 to stop selling them. Environmentalists are hoping Canada’s ban will pave the way for other countries to follow their lead. France has also prioritized plastic pollution by banning plastic packaging on fruits and vegetables. Add to that the world’s first Global Plastic Pollution Treaty, signed in March, and maybe there is reason to hope we are making progress!
Hot, dry weather in Saskatchewan is once again having an affect on wildlife, this time driving waterfowl away from Chappell Marsh just southwest of Saskatoon. “Last year was very dry and we had a lot of the wetlands ... in the province were very dry so it was very difficult for wildlife last year,” said Michael Champion, head of industry and government relations with Ducks Unlimited Canada in Saskatchewan.
The Canadian government has initiated talks with the government towards the construction of a water supply system for the Esiama community and its environs in the Western Region. Dubbed "Esiama project," it is expected to improve potable water supply in the catchment area thereby enhance the livelihood of the residents as well as meet the health and sanitation needs of the people. This came to light yesterday when the Canadian Ambassador to Ghana,Kati Csabapaid a courtesy call on the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), Ms Cecilia AbenaDapaah.
Half of all UK water authorities choose Blackline Safety to protect workers
Blackline Safety Corp. (TSX: BLN), a global leader in connected safety technology, today announced a new water and wastewater company in the United Kingdom has selected Blackline Safety’s technology to protect its people and support its digital transformation. This marks the sixth out of the UK’s 12 water and wastewater companies to now use Blackline’s cloud-connected gas detection products and services.
Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Federal Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable David Joanasie, Minister for Community and Government Services for the Government of Nunavut, announced funding to support the planning of improved water and wastewater treatment in six Nunavut communities.
Halifax Water is asking people in certain parts of the municipality to flush less often as repairs are underway to a pump that's causing wastewater to flow into Halifax harbour. A map provided by the utility Wednesday afternoon highlights the Larry Uteck area, Park West, Clayton Park, Fairview, parts of the west end and parts of north-end Halifax. "This will help minimize the amount of wastewater released into the environment," the utility stated in a news release.
Attendees at Rock the Park are expressing frustration at not being able to bring their own empty reusable water bottles inside the concert grounds despite thirst stations being available. Instead, they have to purchase a $5 water bottle, which can be refilled for free at the station throughout the night. If they bring reusable bottles, they need to check them with their bags, also for the price of $5, concert security told CBC News at the venue. "Most [concert venues] just let you dump your bottle if you got something in it, walk through and refill it, but unfortunately here they're charging for it," said Tori Jones, who was at the concert at Harris Park on Thursday.
Whitehorse city staff have asked council to approve $3.15 million in capital funding to pay for costs associated with the recent landslides in the city, and to start engineering designs to fix a water line and a sewer line. Staff asked for $2.3 million to cover the costs associated with the landslides. So far, the city has spent $1.6 million on building a protective berm on Robert Service Way, inspections, engineering and security, but more bills are expected for the cleanup, repair and precautions put in place.
Canadians are making progress on moving away from single-use plastics by using fewer disposable straws and relying on reusable bags, water bottles and mugs, according to data from Statistics Canada. The new figures come from Statistics Canada's biennial Households and the Environment Survey, which questioned 38,000 households in 2021 on topics such as energy consumption and hazardous products used at home.
