rising waters

Rising flood waters force Peguis First Nation to declare state of emergency once again

Rising flood waters force Peguis First Nation to declare state of emergency once again

About a month after historic flooding on Peguis First Nation began to recede, the community in Manitoba's Interlake region is being hit hard by rising waters once again. A heavy downpour on Tuesday followed by runoff from drainage south of the First Nation led to flash flooding overnight on Wednesday, Peguis Chief Glenn Hudson says. By Thursday, the community had declared a state of emergency. Now, roads that had only been cleaned up from flooding last month are again overcome by water, Hudson says. River crossings have been flooded out. Some residents who had just returned home are once again pumping water and sandbagging. Others returned just to have to leave once more, he says.

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

First Nations communities pursue clean drinking water through the courts

This time of year, with the temperature plunging below -20 C, a snowmobile and an ice chisel are required tools for anyone in Tataskweyak Cree Nation in need of fresh water. There’s the bottled stuff, trucked into town courtesy of the federal government, but the weekly shipment of 1,500 cases is only sufficient to meet basic consumption needs. For cleaning, cooking and basic hygiene water, many residents need a supplementary source. And rather than use their tainted tap water, they follow a snowmobile trail several kilometres to Assean Lake, pails in hand.