WATER NEWS 1/20
Canada Water news roundup

BC

Feds invest $117 million to protect drinking water on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast

More than $117 million in infrastructure funding will be unleashed to address water woes on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast, the federal government announced on Thursday. 

The shíshálh Nation will head up the project along with the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) to upgrade the region’s water treatment plant and construct two large storage reservoirs in the Chapman Creek watershed.

Drinking water in the region, which is on B.C.’s southern coast and includes the municipalities of Sechelt and Gibsons, is under threat from a constant string of summer droughts.   (National Observer)

B.C. giving away fresh water while funding to fight fires, floods and scarcity dries up

As we begin a new year, B.C. faces a pivotal moment in the fight to protect communities from escalating water crises. In recent years, British Columbians have endured devastating floods, wildfires, and freshwater scarcity — straining river systems, damaging homes, and costing the province billions.

In 2021, the provincial government took commendable action to strengthen watershed security by investing in front-line watershed projects that improved public safety, increased food security, rebuilt ecosystems and created thousands of jobs.

(|Vancouver Sun)

B.C. air crews offering aid from the skies to fire-stricken L.A.

A long line of fire and billowing smoke are seen through the helicopter’s windshield as it swoops towards one of the several fires burning in the Los Angeles area.

“Three, two, one, water’s away,” one of the pilots says as a payload of water gushes out of the helicopter and onto the flames. “Looks good,” another voice is heard saying.

British Columbia-based Coulson Aviation released the video of its crew “delivering a precision water drop on the Palisades Fire in California.” (Summerland Review)

Water levels at two key eastern B.C. dams below normal for second straight year

Water levels at two large dams in eastern B.C. are sitting at below normal for the second year in a row.

According to B.C. Hydro CEO Chris O’Riley, water levels at the Williston reservoir in northeast B.C. and the Kinbasket reservoir in the southeast are several metres below normal. (MSN)

AB

Alberta Energy Regulator lays nine charges against Imperial Oil for 2023 spill

The Alberta Energy Regulator has laid nine charges against Imperial Oil almost two years after an estimated 5.3 million litres of toxic wastewater spilled from a pond at its Kearl oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

The charges include failing to report the spill as soon as the company became aware of it, releasing a substance that had or may have had a major impact on the environment and failing to immediately take all reasonable measures to clean up the spill.

The company is also facing a charge for “causing the loss or damage of public land.”

(City News)

Alberta to send helicopters, water bombers to help fight Los Angeles wildfires, says premier

Alberta will join other Canadian provinces helping battle raging wildfires in Los Angeles, the largest in the California city’s history.

The province announced Thursday it’s preparing to deploy an incident command team and additional wildfire-fighting resources to support California , including water bombers and night-vision helicopters. (Calgary Herald)

Irrigation district board approves $273-million southern Alberta reservoir expansion project

 A $273-million expansion of a southern Alberta reservoir has been given the green light by the board of the irrigation district taking on the project, though it will still be a couple of years before work begins.

The Eastern Irrigation District’s board of directors unanimously approved last week an expansion to the Snake Lake Reservoir near Brooks, with approval still needed from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas. (Calgary Herald)

First Nation Demands Alberta Halt O’Leary’s $70B Data Centre Project

A First Nation in northern Alberta is telling the provincial government to “cease and desist” with plans for a C$70 billion artificial intelligence data centre proposed by celebrity investor Kevin O’Leary on its traditional territory.

On January 13, Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation wrote [pdf] an open letter to Premier Danielle Smith, stating it first learned about the proposed project—described by O’Leary Ventures as “the largest AI data centre industrial park in the world”—through [pdf] a press release.

(The Energy Mix)

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. (CBC)

NU

Survey finds Canadians overwhelmingly support building Arctic infrastructure

The Canadian Arctic’s vast landscape has always been a challenge when it comes to implementing and developing reliable Arctic infrastructure.

Home to 150,000 people, with four of every 10 identifying as Indigenous, the Canadian Arctic’s infrastructure deficit has been the most persistent issue affecting northern Arctic communities.

This is not a newly identified problem: the lack of access to reliable and capable infrastructure in the Canadian Arctic has historically been a lingering and unresolved issue for territorial and federal governments in Canada. (The Conversation)

ON

Concerns raised over proposed water taking application at Ontario quarry

A gravel extraction company has applied to extract nearly 15 million litres of water per day for half a year, for up to 10 years at the Glen Christie Quarry

PUSLINCH – A flood of concerns has been raised about a longstanding gravel quarry's application for a new water-taking permit and its potential impact on surrounding water sources and local drinking water. 

Foremost, the effect the water taking could have on neighbouring private and municipal wells.

The township is a commenting agency on the application. It does not have final say.

(Village Reporter)

Lake Ontario’s low water levels, explained

No storm or snowfall can compensate for the upstream deficit bearing down on Lake Ontario right now.

With minimal increases to the water levels predicted in the coming weeks, this is part of a larger issue impacting the Great Lakes system, exacerbated by record-low ice cover on Lake Superior in 2023-2024 and subsequent drought conditions.

“There’s a long cycle that goes traditionally up and down,” said Ron Simkus, known in town for his email blasts to residents and concern over lake levels. (Niagara Now)

QC

Rio Tinto fined $2M for contaminating water near Quebec mine

Company failed to treat harmful effluent, says Environment and Climate Change Canada

The Court of Quebec has ordered Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium Inc. to pay fines totalling $2 million for infractions related to the discharge of harmful effluent into waterways.

The company pled guilty to eight counts of violating the Fisheries Act and the Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations, said Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in a news release Tuesday morning. 

Rio Tinto operates a mine at Lac Tio, about 43 kilometres northeast of Havre-Saint-Pierre, Que., in the Côte-Nord. (CBC)

Quebec sends two more water bombers to fight devastating L.A. wildfires

Quebec has deployed two more water bombers to California in the battle to contain wildfires that have devastated swaths of the Los Angeles area.

The two CL-415 aircraft sent today bring Quebec’s total California aid package to four water bombers, 12 pilots and six technicians.

Pascal Duclos, head pilot of the Quebec team dispatched to California, says the wildfire situation in the state is a tragedy, with 25 people killed so far and thousands of homes destroyed. (CTV)

NB

Construction on Brunswick water treatment plant continues past projected completion date

Construction on a Brunswick County water treatment plan is continuing past its original deadline.

The Northwest Water Treatment Plant, which was initially projected to be completed by late 2024, is still under construction. The project is estimated to be about 85% complete, according to a public notice from the county. The contractor has experienced delays, prolonging the construction timeline. The county intends to deduct liquidated damages from the project cost due to the delays.  (StarNews Online)