WATER NEWS 12/30
Water news roundup

BC

B.C. team building 100 beaver 'starter homes' in the name of wetland preservation

In British Columbia's real estate market, many people dream of a turnkey starter home in a prime location.
Environmental researchers are hoping the same real estate principles will encourage beavers to move into prebuilt homes in some areas of the province and help improve wetlands.
More than 70 manmade beaver dams have been installed in Interior waterways since the B.C. Wildlife Federation project launched last year with the goal of building 100 dams by the end of 2025.
Researchers want to test whether beavers will move into the dams over the next several years, lifting the water in the streams to re-wet adjacent lands while encouraging growth of plants like willow and aspen for them to eat.
(St Albert Gazette)

Drought hangover at B.C. Hydro has eased as utility enters 2025

YU

Yukon Water Board allows temporary release of more contaminated water from Victoria Gold mine
The Yukon Water Board has approved an emergency licence amendment for Victoria Gold's Eagle Gold mine that will temporarily allow water with higher concentrations of contaminants to be released into the environment.
The amendment, effective Dec. 20 until March 15, 2025 comes with a number of conditions, including requirements that water discharges stop if contaminants in nearby Haggart Creek reach levels harmful to fish. 
The discharged water will be "not acutely toxic" but may contain up to double the concentration of total copper and suspended solids compared to before, as well as more weak acid dissociable cyanide and dissolved iron. (CBC)

AB

With walls, berms and raised roads, Fort McMurray is working to keep its river from overflowing
Ever since the devastating spring floods of 2020 in Fort McMurray, the northeastern Alberta community has been shoring up its defences against rising rivers.

Now, officials with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) say Fort McMurray is better prepared for future floods. 
"From a permanent structural mitigation standpoint, there's been significant works completed," said James Semple, manager of RMWB's project management office. 
It has spent $119 million on flood mitigation so far; the remaining work that is planned will bring the total expenditure to about $270 million, according to a statement on the RMWB's website. 

Semple said the aim is to prepare the community for another one-in-100-year flood — which is what Fort McMurray experienced in 2020 — as well as a one-in-200-year flood, in which the river would rise by another half-metre or so.
Preparation means damages to residents and businesses would be appropriately mitigated, he said. - CBC)

Drought was going to be the big story for 2024, then it didn’t happen

This year was an unexpected boon for farmers in the southeastern corner, despite lingering fears of drought.
Following the unusually hot and dry season in 2023, concerns were prevalent heading into this past growing season, with both the City of Medicine Hat and Cypress County making plans for continued water shortages as early as last December and throughout the winter months. Low reservoir levels and river flow only heightened this anxiety, with commentary from farmers that even irrigated crops may be in trouble if snowmelt and precipitation didn’t come through to replenish sources to keep up with demand.
Free rain barrels and water restrictions were the talk of the city in May, with concerns about potentially not having water in outlying communities being a major topic at the Municipal Mingle on May 15. (Medicine Hat News)

Alberta snowpack in ‘a great spot,’ says researcher
This winter’s snow has been a welcome sight for Alberta farmers.
At the same time last year, much of the ground in and around Edmonton was virtually uncovered.
“Farmers are always concerned about what the moisture does as it’s the biggest factor in crop production and cattle production,” said Scott Jespersen, the vice-chair of Alberta Grains and a farmer near Spruce Grove, Alta.
Jespersen says dry years have depleted sloughs and dugouts in the area.
University of Saskatchewan researcher John Pomeroy says current conditions will help replenish some of that water.
Pomeroy studies water resources from Canmore, Alta.

He says mountain snow levels are relatively low for this time of year, but for much of the province, snowpack is above average. (Global News)

NWT

Fort Providence, N.W.T., to get new water treatment plant after reports of diesel smells
The N.W.T. hamlet of Fort Providence is back to using water from the Mackenzie River after water tests came back clean — and with federal investment for a new water treatment plant, the mayor hopes it's a problem that won't repeat.
Last week, the hamlet sent water samples to Yellowknife for testing after some residents reported smelling diesel in their water. The community drained and cleaned the water treatment plant and trucked in water from Hay River in the meantime. (MSN)

ON

Heavy rain prompts water-safety warnings in London region
Parents in Southwestern Ontario are being advised to keep children away from creeks and rivers because of heavy rain that may cause flooding in low-lying areas.
Environment Canada has issued rainfall warnings for southern Ontario, including the London region.
A low-pressure system is expected to bring between 30 and 45 millimetres of rain in London and eastern Middlesex County, the agency said. Most of the rain is expected to fall Sunday. - (London Free Press)

Recent rainfall forces dam closure in Chatham, Ont., creek to divert water around city
Recent heavy rainfall has caused a southwestern Ontario conversation authority to put one of its flood control plans into action.
The Chatham area has seen between 40 to 55 millimetres of precipitation in the past 24 hours or so, according to the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority (LTVCA).
Spokesperson Jason Wintermute says a rising McGregor Creek has forced them to close the gates on the dam to divert water around the city — and bypass homes and businesses to the south end of Chatham, in the Indian Creek area.- (CBC)

NU

Arctic Bay, Nunavut, is expecting to receive federal money to build a small craft harbour in 2025, six years after the project was first announced.
In 2019, the federal government revealed plans to build harbours in four Nunavut communities — Arctic Bay, Clyde River, Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay.
That's part of the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area and the associated Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement, which is meant to support local training and employment.
The federal government's fall economic statement last week proposed $105.9 million over seven years, starting in 2025, for construction in Arctic Bay. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) expects it to be operational by 2031.
"Community and commercial fishing, hunting, food supply, safety and security issues, transportation, tourism, and socialization will be enhanced at the community and regional level," DFO wrote in an email.
DFO estimates the harbour will create roughly 60 to 150 jobs during the construction period, and $90 to $130 million in GDP. (CBC)

QC

Authorities change plan to free ship stranded in Quebec

MONTREAL — The Canadian Coast Guard announced this morning that a change of strategy is underway to free the ship that ran aground on Christmas Eve on the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.
An attempt to refloat the ship using a team of tugboats that was launched on Friday has not worked, the coast guard says.
The new strategy involves transferring the ship's cargo of corn onto a barge to reduce its weight and allow it to float again.
A plan to evacuate at least part of the cargo must be finalized today by the ship's owner, a spokesperson for the coast guard says. (MSN)