The Fondation Rivières has just released an interactive map of wastewater discharges in Quebec. In the greater Suroît region, spills are counted in the thousands for 2019.
The mapping tool, produced in collaboration with the School of Media (UQAM), was developed for the specific purpose of raising awareness among governments and the population about the quality of river water. The map allows citizens, municipalities and all organizations concerned about water quality to quickly obtain a portrait of wastewater discharges in their territory.
Beauharnois and Coteau-du-Lac
The City of Beauharnois and the municipality of Coteau-du-Lac are categorized as being places with a very high risk of overflow. Moreover, the City of Beauharnois had nothing less than 901 overflows in 2019. If this statistic may frighten some citizens, it is important to point out that in 2017, the City of Beauharnois was the host of 1,630 spills of wastewater in Lac Saint-Louis. Since 2011, 7,163 spills have occurred in this city of 13,374 residents according to 2020 statistics from the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing.
In Coteau-du-Lac, there are 886 spills for 2019. It was the most difficult year since statistics became available. Between 2011 and 2019, 2,318 spills occurred in Coteau-du-Lac.
In Vaudreuil-Dorion, the efforts made by the municipal administration appear to be beneficial. The number of spills is 223 for 2019 compared to 324 in 2017. As for the number of spills since 2011, it is 1,666.
Haut-Saint-Laurent
In Haut-Saint-Laurent, spills are not frequent. In fact, for the municipalities of Ormstown, Saint-Anicet, Huntingdon and Franklin, there are 160 spills in 2019. Only the municipalities of Ormstown and Huntingdon were affected. However, it is important to point out that a large number of residences in the Haut-Saint-Laurent are served by septic tanks. Therefore, not all municipalities have sewage treatment plants.
Issue
For the initiator of the project, the Fondation Rivières, the time had come to inform the public about the extent of the situation. “Since the flushgate in Montreal, the issue of water quality and accessibility is of great concern to Quebecers, says André Bélanger, Executive Director of the Fondation Rivières. However, wastewater spills are everywhere and every day! People need to know where the 60,000 or so untreated wastewater spills are located each year and what happens in each municipality. The map illustrates the symptom of a worrisome disease and above all, it makes it possible to draw up a list of the municipalities where it is urgent to intervene to close the gaps. Citizens now have the tool they need to demand that their municipalities and the MELCC address the problem.”
The Fondation Rivières released a gloomy portrait on June 1st in which it established that 7 out of 10 municipalities still contaminate rivers. On June 15th, in reaction to this state of affairs, 44 organizations subscribed to an open letter addressed to the Premier of Quebec, the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Municipal Affairs calling for a major clean water project.
