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.
Our closest neighbour to the south has a serious problem — and I’m not talking about racial animus, gun violence or political polarization. No, I’m referring to water shortages that the United States has never experienced before. To put it bluntly, the U.S. is literally running out of accessible water. And without water, the lives of millions of Americans are in immediate danger. I mean, you can’t live without safe water to drink.
The province is warning Manitobans to avoid the water at Ninette Beach, on northern Pelican Lake, after high levels of toxic algae were discovered last week. The concentrations of microcystin — an algal toxin that can be harmful to the liver or nervous system if large amounts of water are swallowed — at the southwestern Manitoba beach were "well above the recreational water quality objective," according to Manitoba's latest weekly beach conditions report, which was issued Friday.
Persistent dry and hot conditions on British Columbia's coast led the provincial government to raise all of Vancouver Island as well as the Haida Gwaii basin to drought level 3 on Saturday. People who live in eastern and western Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii are being asked to reduce their water consumption wherever possible and to respect watering restrictions issued by local and regional governments, water utility providers or irrigation districts. "The high temperatures, consistent sunshine and lack of recent rain have increased water temperatures in numerous Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii streams," B.C.'s Ministry of Forests said in a news release.
Fifteen communities will receive support for water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste projects through the Provincial Capital Assistance Program, the Province announced today, August 26. “Access to safe drinking water and wastewater treatment are vital for strong, healthy communities,” said Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables and MLA for Cumberland South, on behalf of Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Lohr.
You may soon be getting a letter in your mailbox with Durham Region’s logo on it, advertising an insurance plan for your water and sewer lines. The letter will appear different from other regional correspondence because it is being sent out by Service Line Warranties of Canada (SLWC), a private company. The program is run by SLWC, with regional approval. It would cover repairs to your home’s service lines, specifically the ones that the region is not responsible for maintaining. You may want to check if your home insurance already covers such repairs. SLWC runs similar programs in tandem with a number of municipalities across Ontario.
Even in the decades before the West plunged into a 22-year drought, the proposals to shift water from wetter states to more arid locations have never been in short supply. There was the submarine pipeline from Alaska to California. Towing Antarctic icebergs to make up for shortfalls in drinking water supplies. A pipeline from Lake Superior to Wyoming. And that one plan that more or less required an invasion of Canada.
Batchewana First Nation celebrated the official grand opening of its long-awaited Chi We Kwe Don water treatment plant in Goulais Bay 15A Thursday. The facility went online this past March, pumping clean, drinkable water into 49 homes in the small reserve situated 45 minutes north of Sault Ste. Marie for the first time in several years. The federal government allotted $14.6 million for feasibility, design and construction of the new water treatment plant in addition to 10 point-of-entry water systems for Obadjiwan 15E — another community belonging to Batchewana First Nation situated in the Batchawana Bay area.
Some people in the Municipality of Cumberland, N.S., could be paying 20 per cent more for water next year if a proposed merger goes ahead. The municipality wants to combine the water utilities of Parrsboro, Pugwash and Springhill into one utility, and applied for a rate increase for that one utility. Currently, the water services are all managed separately and keep accounting records separately. They file these records to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
Two watershed groups on P.E.I. are participating in a regional research project to determine the level of microplastics in Island waterways. Microplastics are tiny plastic particles — often invisible to the human eye — created as waste and plastic products break down. The Winter River-Tracadie Bay Watershed Association and the Bedeque Bay Environmental Management Association are collecting data to determine microplastic levels in their respective bays for the second summer.
First Nations, scientists and climate change experts are sharing how the Yukon's landscape — shaped by permafrost — is thawing and what that means for adaptation, land use, industry and wildlife. The issue is the main theme of the North Yukon Permafrost Conference, a collaboration between the Tr'ondëk Hwëchin and Vuntut Gwitchin governments, the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun and the Canadian Permafrost Association. The conference runs all week. The permafrost shift is especially noticeable in Dawson City, said Jackie Olson, a Tr'ondëk Hwëchin citizen who has lived in the community her whole life.
An environmental group on Newfoundland's west coast says it supports a proposed wind-to-hydrogen project for the Port au Port Peninsula in principle but doesn't want the impact assessment or consultation process rushed for what could be a precedent-setting project for the province. Katie Temple, the executive director of the Western Environment Centre of Newfoundland, said while the World Energy GH2 proposal could help reduce reduce fossil fuel dependence, the process seems to be "happening very quickly," given the provincial moratorium on wind development in the province was lifted just in April.
Large amounts of "unsightly" and smelly vegetation has been washing up on Toronto's Cherry Beach shoreline recently, but the director of water programs at Swim Drink Fish Canada says there's no need for alarm. Gregary Ford says the mixture of "submerged aquatic vegetation and a form of algae" is harmless to humans and animals. "We get photos like this all the time; people are often concerned when they see something green washing up on their shorelines," Ford told CBC Toronto.
Members of the Cowichan Tribes First Nation on Vancouver Island are relieved to finally have drinkable water coming from their taps, though some members are still going without. Clean water is a necessity that many in Canada take for granted, but for 20 households on Indian Road in the First Nation on southern Vancouver Island, it's only recently become accessible.
For years, Ed Sweeney served in the Canadian Armed Forces living at CFB Valcartier military base starting in 1991. While he faced the ordinary dangers that come with serving with the 5e régiment d’artillerie légère du Canada, including a deployment to Bosnia in 1995, he also faced a grave danger at home. For decades, the Department of National Defence (DND) and two private companies, SNC-Lavalin and General Dynamics, were contaminating local water sources around the base and the neighbouring municipality of Shannon, Que., with a dangerous carcinogenic called trichloroethylene.
The Village of Cumberland is receiving two grants for drinking water infrastructure. The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is providing $4,475,000 for the reconstruction of a dam on Cumberland Creek and adjacent stream restoration activities. The province’s StrongerBC Economic Plan and rural development grant program is also investing $481,625 for a Union Road watermain project. The dam reconstruction work is required under provincial dam safety regulations for the purpose of seismic improvements.
There is also the question of water use, as it has been reported that the production of lithium through evaporation ponds uses a lot of water. Approximately 2.2 million litres of water is needed to produce one ton of lithium. During the 2019 election the Trudeau Government had promised to create a new water regulator and has been dropping hints that it will be proceeding with such an agency.
Canada's environment minister is denying the Saskatchewan government's allegations that federal scientists purposely trespassed on private farmland and were testing water samples for nitrates or nutrients related to farm runoff. On Sunday, Saskatchewan Minister Responsible for the Water Security Agency Jeremy Cockrill posted a public letter to federal Minister for Environment and Climate Change Canada Steven Guilbeault.
Canadians depend on nature for clean water to drink and air to breathe, food to eat, and quality spaces to enjoy the outdoors. Conserving nature is vital to protect species at risk, combat climate change, and build a strong, sustainable economy. Today, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Julie Dabrusin, attended a turtle release at the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve on behalf of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault. At the event, she announced that the biosphere reserve is receiving more than $585,000 over three years from Canada's Enhanced Nature Legacy. These funds will support the biosphere reserve's biodiversity conservation efforts and support Canada's goal to conserve 25 percent of lands and inland waters by 2025, working toward 30 percent of each by 2030.
Today, Ahousaht First Nation is celebrating the completion of their new wastewater treatment plant, located at Ahousaht First Nation's Maaqtusiis Reserve No. 15. This plant replaces the old septic tank treatment and lift station, as well as the old outfall pipe, which was located in an area with a shellfish habitat sensitive to sewage contamination. The old system was unable to properly protect seafood safety and did not meet regulatory standards.
A water shortage in Nunavut has prompted the region's territorial government to declare a state of emergency, leading experts to re-evaluate water infrastructure in areas they say lack necessary funding. "Families are frustrated. Businesses are frustrated," MP Lori Idlout told CTV News Channel. "Water is such an essential human right." Iqaluit, which reported a water shortage last week, is now working on getting regulatory approval to pump in water from a nearby lake.
