Kristen Villebrun and Wendy Bush hoped they wouldn't have to pray for Chedoke Creek, but four years after they first raised alarm about the water's condition, they were part of an Indigenous full moon ceremony to do just that. About 50 people showed up near Princess Point on the dark and frigid Monday evening for the monthly ceremony, which was particularly special as it focused on Chedoke Creek. The body of water that runs into Cootes Paradise had about 24 billion litres of sewage and storm water runoff leak into it due to a gate being left open.
Tuesday was a day like any other at the Grind & Vine — coffee was made, and customers were served. You’d be forgiven for not realizing the store had to be closed down a week ago due to a broken watermain. “Actually, we didn’t know until we got in to bake everything and to make coffee that we had no water coming into the building,” says Taylor Russett, owner of Grind & Vine.