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Latest news about the Safe Drinking Water Team
A trial began in Burton on Tuesday for a man accused of criminal negligence in the 2018 drowning death of a Fredericton teen, during a construction project at Fredericton's main wastewater treatment plant. Jason King was a supervisor for Springhill Construction, which is also facing charges, when Michael Henderson, 18, died at a sewage treatment plant on Barker Street.
If First Nation communities want to be ready for tomorrow's climate change challenges, don't wait on help or support from the government, says the former chief in British Columbia. Patrick Michell was at the National Climate Gathering of the Assembly of First Nations in Fredericton to share what he considers the success story of his community. It "broke dependency," he said, by creating its own revenue streams and arriving at a place where it expects to be water and food secure for the next 100 years.
Cecelia Brooks remembers a time when the deep forest of New Brunswick was so cold, snow could still be found in its depths in August. That rarely happens anymore, says Brooks, a traditional knowledge keeper with Wolastoqey, Mi'kmaw, Mohawk and Korean bloodlines who has been foraging and harvesting foods and medicines all of her life. These days, Brooks says, plants like the mayflower will come up, "you'll see the buds … then all of a sudden they get hit by that heat and it shrivels."
A community in Upper Madawaska is taking steps to fix an unsustainable drinking water supply. The well that the former village of Saint–Hilaire has relied on for decades was damaged in the 2008 flood. The village is now part of the amalgamated community of Haut–Madawaska. The problem has now reached a breaking point and people who live there have been under a boil order since Feb. 2.
Atlantic region First Nations Chiefs and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) have signed a framework agreement on a ground-breaking water utility that will oversee the drinking water and wastewater operations for over half of the First Nations population in the region. The agreement will transfer control and management of water and wastewater services for 15 Mi'kmaw and Wolastoqey communities from ISC to a single First Nations-led organization, and comes with a $2.5 million federal investment to get the water authority started on recruitment, training of staff and other operational costs.
A new $40 thousand report concludes scaly material that built up over decades in the water pipes of west Saint John homes was weakened by a change in the water source, which eventually caused leaks. The report follows over 200 complaints of leaking pipes and a series of angry public meetings that concluded in an ongoing class action lawsuit.
A water-main break in Nackawic early Monday morning has prompted a boil order for some residents and closed two schools for the day. The order affects only those on lower Landegger Drive, according to a post on the town's Facebook page. Nackawic High School and Nackawic Middle School are closed because of the break, a town official said.
Moncton's $77.6-million capital budget sets aside millions to deal with blue-green algae in the municipal water supply. Jack MacDonald, Moncton's general manager of engineering and environmental services, said the city will work with Dalhousie University to study whether a water purification system could be added at the treatment plant to handle the algae.
For well over a year, Rob and Connie Crow have struggled to keep their failing water well from quitting altogether. First the water softener stopped working. They discovered the water coming from the well carried a gritty substance that left an oily film on their hands. Rob shrugs when asked what it is. "I can guarantee you it's not good for you," he said.
A no-swimming advisory during the entire New Brunswick Day weekend didn't stop beachgoers from taking a dip at Parlee Beach. Water samples turned up with high levels of fecal bacteria three days in a row — from water tested Thursday, Friday and Saturday. But the beach was busy, with lifeguards watching over it and many children swimming in the water.
