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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
Many others, in Lake Babine Nation and beyond, share Charlie’s concern. The Babine River is an integral tributary for Skeena sockeye, which is a major sockeye run in B.C., second only to the Fraser River. Skeena sockeye are central to Lake Babine Nation health and economy. Every bad year has future ramifications. If fewer salmon return to spawn one year, it can mean a lower return four or five years down the line — the length of the sockeye life cycle.
A First Nation in British Columbia will receive a boost from the province for shoreline stabilization, with the chief saying it is under consistent threat of flooding. The $5 million aimed at so-called riprap erosion control measures is going to the Sqwa First Nation, Shxwha:y Village and the City of Chilliwack. The announcement comes a week after the province provided $23.4 million in funding to 49 communities to help reduce risks from future disasters related to natural hazards and climate change, including $150,000 for a drainage pump station upgrade design in Chilliwack.
Two First Nations say they will appeal parts of a British Columbia Supreme Court ruling released last month that rejected their bid for an injunction to restore the natural flows of the Nechako River. The river in central B.C. has been diverted for 70 years to generate hydroelectricity for mining giant Rio Tinto's aluminum division and the province's power grid. The Saik'uz and Stellat'en First Nations announced Thursday they plan to bring a "limited appeal'' of the Jan. 7 ruling, asking the higher court to order the restoration of flows for the Nechako that would re-establish "the natural functions of the river.''
Delta will soon take part in a gathering of local and indigenous governments south of the Fraser River to see what can be done to improve water quality of the Canadian-US shared waters of Boundary Bay. Members of the Shared Waters Alliance, an international working group made up of representatives from government, First Nations and community groups from both countries, made a presentation to Delta council last week to discuss the ongoing shellfish harvesting closure on the Canadian side due to bacteriological contamination. Indigenous peoples, including the Semiahmoo First Nation, traditionally harvested the abundant fish and shellfish resources for their livelihood. The Alliance’s objectives include, among other things, a collaborative approach to monitoring and facilitating transparent communication among stakeholders to bring action-based objectives that will achieve measurable improvements in local water quality.
