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.
Renowned water scientist Dr. Jay Famiglietti (PhD), lead researcher of a scientific team that in late December published a paper in the prestigious Nature Communications journal detailing what their analysis indicates, has a blunt message: “All around the world, we have been kicking the can down the road for a long time on effectively managing groundwater. Now we are at the end of the road, and it’s a dead end.”
Virtually every snowflake that falls on Fortress Mountain in the Kananaskis region is recorded and watched. "We're in a time when we get extreme weather and a changing climate," said John Pomeroy, director of the University of Saskatchewan's Centre for Hydrology. "We try to follow every drop of water, every flake of snow, and see where it's going." The Centre for Hydrology's Coldwater laboratory is made up of stations with instruments placed on the ridges, glaciers, valleys, and creeks in the Alberta Rockies.
Imperial Oil is travelling to all five Sahtu communities in the N.W.T. this week for what it's calling "neighbour week." The 143-year-old company says the purpose of the visits are for people to learn about its oil operation in Norman Wells, N.W.T., to ask questions, and to provide feedback. Company representatives will be in Norman Wells on Monday, Fort Good Hope on Tuesday, Tulita on Wednesday, Délı̨nę on Thursday and Colville Lake on Friday.
The University of Windsor is receiving more than $1.77 million in funding to support its leadership in the Real-Time Aquatic Ecosystem Observation Network (RAEON). It's working with eight other schools in the largest freshwater observational research network in Canada, and one of the largest globally. Aaron Fisk is the Canada Research Chair in Changing Great Lakes Ecosystems and a professor at the School of the Environment at the University of Windsor.
It's that rarest of rare conditions along coastal Newfoundland: a dead calm day. By 7 a.m., the crew aboard the fishing boat Belle of the Bay are taking full advantage of it, steaming out of the harbour in Heart's Content under dazzling July sunshine, with their sights set on a prized catch in the middle of Trinity Bay. It's not fish they're after. The object awaiting them looks like a mashup between a torpedo, a banana, and a Dash 8 — a type of underwater drone, called a glider.
The Town of Okotoks’ Water Smart Business Grant program is back for its second year and gives the business sector a chance to apply for thousands of dollars in grant money for implementing projects that conserve water. Businesses and institutions can apply to receive funding of up to $10,000 for each eligible project. “It’s a win-win situation — the Town is supporting local businesses through covering the investment costs, while businesses will ultimately see savings on their utility bills from the water they save in the long-term,” said Mayor Tanya Thorn. “This grant provides a substantial incentive and plenty of flexibility that makes it worthwhile applying for.”
Hibernia Management and Development Company Ltd. is challenging charges laid by Newfoundland and Labrador's offshore energy regulator in relation to a 2019 spill that sent 12,000 litres of oil into the Atlantic Ocean. Lawyers representing the energy giant entered not guilty pleas when the case was called in St. John's provincial court on Thursday.
The Ktunaxa Nation says it has been left out of conversations between the federal and provincial governments and mining companies – a feeling the nation says is validated by documents revealed through a Freedom of Information request. The request to uncover the documents was made by the Ktunaxa Nation. The nation, along with local activist group Wildsight, have long been ringing the alarm bells regarding the Elk Valley’s mining pollution.
BC Hydro and the Site C dam’s main civil works contractor have been charged under the federal Fisheries Act for failing to immediately report the discharge of four million litres of potentially contaminated acid rock drainage water into the fish-bearing Peace River. The contractor, Peace River Hydro Partners, was also charged with depositing a harmful substance into the Peace River, according to BC Hydro’s latest quarterly Site C dam report. The report, released in late December, says the public utility learned of the charges in late October following an investigation by Environment and Climate Change Canada.
After initiating its own wastewater testing for polio last year, Canada has detected two samples of vaccine-derived polio virus type 2 (VDPV2). According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)'s epidemiological update released on Dec. 30, 2022, the virus strain was found in two wastewater samples collected between Aug. 20 and Aug. 30 2022.
Peel police have reported two instances of severe watermain breaks in two different districts of Mississauga. The first was reported on Lakeshore Road West between Lorne Park Road and Ibar Way in the late afternoon of Jan. 5. Heavy flooding was reported and crews were on the scene. The police Twitter account stated the stretch of roadway would be closed until 5 p.m. the afternoon of Jan. 6 and that sinkholes were forming.
A study by international researchers using a supercomputer at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) has found that most of Western Canada's glaciers will disappear by the year 2100. The study, "Global Glacier Change in the 21st Century: Every Increase in Temperature Matters" was published Thursday in the journal Science. "A child born today will witness the near-complete disappearance of one of western Canada's most iconic symbols glaciers," reads a statement from the university.
A Memorial University researcher is urging well owners in Newfoundland to make lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of disease caused by arsenic exposure. Atanu Sarkar, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine, says years or decades of drinking water contaminated by arsenic increases the risk of several cancers — including kidney, liver and lung cancer — due to epigenetic changes that occur during long-term exposure. "They're more prone to have cancer in [the] future," Sarkar said.
Water Ways Technologies Inc. (TSXV: WWT) ("Water Ways" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it has received an order to deliver and install a 274 hectares (677 acres) turnkey Banana irrigation project in the Asian country of Laos. The Company will provide a complete smart irrigation system including drip lines, water treatment, filtration, reservoirs and pumps to a recurring customer. The order was received from an existing customer who is currently expanding his high density Banana plantation in Laos. The total value of the order is approximately CAD$930,000. The Company expects to commence the project during Q2, 2023. Delivery and installation of the system will take place during 2023 and Q1 of 2024 and revenues are expected to be recognized during the installation period.
As Canadian public health officials question China's transparency in sharing its COVID-19 surveillance information, scientists are stepping up airplane wastewater testing to try to get an early warning of potential new variants. On Friday, Vancouver International Airport will join Toronto's Pearson International Airport in taking samples of fecal matter that came from airplane toilets to identify what coronavirus variants and subvariants passengers and crew might be bringing into Canada.
A public water blessing ceremony was held Thursday on the shores of the St. Lawrence River at the Clock Tower in the Old Port of Montreal. The ceremony was conducted by Ukrainian Bishop Bryan J. Bayda, eparch of the Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada, to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. The water blessing is an important part of Eastern Christian traditions. It centres around the Feast of Theophany — or the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River — which is celebrated every year on Jan. 6.
The snowpack covering California's mountains is off to one of its best starts in 40 years, officials announced Tuesday, raising hopes that the drought-stricken state could soon see relief in the spring when the snow melts and begins to refill parched reservoirs. Roughly a third of California's water each year comes from melted snow in the Sierra Nevada, a mountain range that covers the eastern part of the state. The state has built a complex system of canals and dams to capture that water and store it in huge reservoirs so it can be used the rest of the year when it doesn't rain or snow.
“You wake up in the morning and you go to your computer to work … and you look outside and it’s raining ashes,” said the former Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) researcher at the University of Saskatchewan (USask). Aubry-Wake’s research article “Fire and Ice: The Impact of Wildfire-Affected Albedo and Irradiance on Glacier Melt” was published in the American Geophysical Union (AGU) journal Earth’s Future in April 2022.
LaForme, senior counsel at Olthuis Kleer Townsend, a law firm solely specializing in Indigenous issues, was also instrumental in the First Nations Drinking Water class-action settlement approved last year. Appointees to the Order of Canada will receive their insignia at an investiture ceremony with details yet to be announced.
Climate change is causing mild winter temperatures to become more frequent across the country, one extreme weather expert says. Parts of southern Ontario have seen unseasonably warm temperatures and rainfall warnings in recent days, with some local conservation authorities warning the public to stay away from waterways as water levels are expected to rise due to rain and melting snow.
