reservoirs

Drinking water, aquatic life at risk due to B.C.’s fire-ravaged summer: experts

Drinking water, aquatic life at risk due to B.C.’s fire-ravaged summer: experts

Experts say the extent to which wildfires have burned across the province this year will have serious implications for the quality of B.C.’s watersheds and the ecosystems that rely on them. John Richardson, a Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences professor at the University of British Columbia, says with so many hillsides scorched by wildfires this year, there’s nothing to prevent incoming rain from creating a “debris torrent” — something which spells bad news for the province’s drinking water.

8 grandmothers from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation organize protest against mine project

8 grandmothers from Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation organize protest against mine project

"It concerns us. The water, the land, the medicine on it will be destroyed. The caribou that are roaming in that area and all the mushrooms and wild rice there. All of it would be contaminated," said Elder Eileen Linklater, one of the eight grandmothers who organized the protest. "Mines usually have spills. Yes, they build reservoirs, but they overflow and it would go into water streams. Also, they will release a lot of gasses into the air." Asked to comment on the concerns being expressed by the protesters, Foran said some of the information the concerns are based on is "misleading and untrue."

Potential expansion of irrigation in east-central Alberta could be ‘a boon,’ says area reeve

Potential expansion of irrigation in east-central Alberta could be ‘a boon,’ says area reeve

The Alberta government is partnering with the Municipal District of Acadia, the Special Areas board and the Canada Infrastructure Bank to continue planning a large-scale irrigation project for east-central Alberta. A total of $7 million is being invested in a two-year study that will explore the feasibility of the project, which proposes to increase water storage by pumping water from the Red Deer River into new reservoirs.

Why volunteers scoop thousands of fish out of Alberta irrigation canals each year

Why volunteers scoop thousands of fish out of Alberta irrigation canals each year

Throughout the warmer months, Alberta's irrigation networks play a crucial role in the province. They transfer water from rivers and reservoirs, delivering it to rural communities, to farmers and to recreational areas, supporting some wildlife along the way. But along with the water comes the fish. And in the fall, when the irrigation networks shut down, thousands of them become stranded. "It's absolutely a recurring problem," said Lesley Peterson, a Calgary biologist with Trout Unlimited Canada.

No water, no school: How water delivery issues disrupt learning for Inuit children in Nunavik

No water, no school: How water delivery issues disrupt learning for Inuit children in Nunavik

Once every week or two, Elom Akpo runs out of the principal's office at Tarsakallak School in Aupaluk, Que., jumps into the school truck and cruises the streets of the village, looking for a water delivery truck. This wasn't part of the job description when Akpo took up his duties as principal last January, but it's what he does to keep the only school in the village of 233 open. Tarsakallak School routinely runs out of water. If its reservoirs are not filled before they run dry, Akpo has to send all 60 or so students home.

To be resilient, the Canadian Prairie needs lots of wetlands

To be resilient, the Canadian Prairie needs lots of wetlands

In the Canadian Prairies, wetland drainage has resulted in the loss of more than 40 percent of natural wetlands. The impacts associated with this drainage are largely unmitigated. Wetlands are key ecosystem features that provide numerous services, like water purification, that are integral to social and ecological systems. Because wetlands occur largely in depressions, they regulate stream flow by acting as reservoirs for snow and rain, and many are places where groundwater can be replenished. In the prairie climate, the presence of water lends these systems to being a crucial habitat for many organisms.

A second chance: Canada, U.S. renegotiate a critical water treaty

A second chance: Canada, U.S. renegotiate a critical water treaty

The Columbia River Treaty, an international agreement governing the flow of water between British Columbia and six U.S. states, will be 55 years old this year. It has not aged well. The river springs from the Columbia Icefield in the Rocky Mountains of B.C. and winds 1,930 kilometres through the Northwestern United States – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming. No other river in North America spills more water into the Pacific Ocean.

'The 500-year flood': Dozens forced from homes in Whitewater Region

'The 500-year flood': Dozens forced from homes in Whitewater Region

Dozens of people in the Township of Whitewater Region have been forced from their homes as water levels on the Ottawa River peaked this weekend. The Renfrew County, Ont., township is about 140 kilometres northwest of downtown Ottawa, and includes nearly 90 kilometres of shoreline. About 100 homes have been affected by flooding, Mayor Michael Moore said Sunday.

Carry The Kettle water treatment plant fire ruled undetermined

Carry The Kettle water treatment plant fire ruled undetermined

The cause of the fire that destroyed the water treatment facility on Carry The Kettle Nakoda Nation has been ruled undetermined by Saskatchewan First Nation Emergency Management.
The facility was destroyed in February, leaving roughly 1,500 people without water.
According to Kimbal Ironstar, the First Nation’s projects manager, within three days of the fire they were able to hook up untreated well water and restore running water.