Photo: Marie-France Coallier Le Devoir The Guay sector well, located at the corner of Desjardins Street and Miltimore Road, serves 23 residences.
Jeanne Corriveau
Published at 0:00
- Regions
The drinking water of most Quebecers comes from municipal aqueducts or individual wells. But there are still several hundred private aqueducts in Quebec. In many cases, these are vestiges of an era when landowners carried out real estate development by providing the water supply themselves. Decades later, with aging water systems, several municipalities are forced to take charge of these networks. And the bill is significant.
Since 2006, residents of 23 homes in the Guay sector of Brigham, in Estrie, have had to boil their water before consuming it. This is because coliforms were occasionally detected in this water, which comes from a common well, and the Ministry of the Environment published a boil water advisory which was never lifted.
But the situation could change from the fall. At least that's what this rural municipality of some 2,350 inhabitants is hoping for.
This whole story has been a long journey, admits the general manager of Brigham, Pierre Lefebvre. At the origin of the problem: a private aqueduct built in the 1970s by an owner who had divided up his land for real estate development. Twenty-three residences are supplied by this aqueduct connected to a well.
In 2006, the owner was no longer able to operate this aqueduct network, Quebec transferred responsibility to the municipality – which did not want it -, and a boil water notice was published, taking into account of the presence of coliforms. This advisory has never been lifted, but coliform episodes are “extremely rare” and the water is not unfit for consumption, maintains Pierre Lefebvre.
“There have been several attempts to resolve the problem with exorbitant costs,” says Mr. Lefebvre, who has been in office since 2017. In 2010, the municipality notably explored the possibility of connecting this network to that of Cowansville. “But it cost a fortune, for around 25 people,” explains the official. The option of individual wells also had to be ruled out due to the small size of certain lands and the presence of sewage fields.
After the development of various projects, calls for tenders and overly expensive submissions, the municipality finally opted for the upgrade of the aqueduct system and the construction of a building for water treatment equipment . Project cost: $1.5 million. Brigham will, however, benefit from a subsidy from the Municipal Water Infrastructure Program (PRIMEAU) covering 95% of the bill. The work began in the spring and should be completed in August.
“We are repairing the mistakes of the past,” says Mr. Lefebvre, who emphasizes that this type development dates back to an era prior to the creation of the Commission for the Protection of the Agricultural Territory of Quebec and the development plans.
Des rules clarified
In 2015, a report from the Québec Ombudsman highlighted that there were 526 private water systems in Quebec, serving 60,000 people, or approximately 1% of the population, and that some of them were experiencing water quality problems. water. At the time, 97 water systems were subject to a boil water advisory and 27, a non-consumption advisory for more than three years. The Public Protector then urged the Ministry of the Environment to better take charge of the networks affected by such notices.
The Ministry of the Environment assures that it has taken measures to better regulate private aqueducts. The new Regulation respecting private waterworks and sewers, which came into force in March 2018, clarifies the duties of private operators and the methods of calculating the costs imposed on users. Like municipalities, private operators are required to comply with the Regulation respecting the quality of drinking water and must carry out regular sampling.
In an email, the ministry emphasizes that most cases of private waterworks affected by boiling water or long-term non-consumption advisories have been resolved following the establishment of a new intervention framework. However, we recognize that, in certain cases, the solutions can be very expensive.
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Difficult choices
Residents of the Larouche sector of the former municipality of Saint-Louis-de-France, now merged with Trois-Rivières, do not have any water quality problems, but they have been plunged into uncertainty for several months.
The 112 homes in the sector are supplied by three wells connected to a private aqueduct. However, the Latras company, which has owned it since the 1970s, wants to abandon operation of the network. Last May, the City of Trois-Rivières called residents of the area to an information evening to present them with five scenarios for the future of the private network.
Like his neighbours, Jean-François Roy would have liked the city to take charge of the network, but it’s not that simple. Trois-Rivières does not favour this option – although it could be required to do so by a court, a municipal official admitted during the presentation to citizens – because it would cost $6 million and impose an additional tax of $4,300 on the residents concerned for 20 years, Mr. Roy explained. Another scenario proposes that citizens band together to take charge of the network and operate it.
These solutions do nothing to delight citizens. “We lack a lot of information,” admits Jean-François Roy. He maintains that the majority of citizens concerned are reluctant to take responsibility for the aqueduct. “It’s a network that is still outdated.” We don’t feel like it, but it might be the only solution we have left. We don’t want to live like that. We just want water.”
Waiting for subsidies
Unlike Trois-Rivières, the municipality of Les Cèdres, in Montérégie, sees an advantage to acquire the private waterworks and sewer networks which currently serve 198 homes in its Lucerne sector. The project will allow the municipality to acquire a third reserve of drinking water, and the aqueducts will supply the approximately 400 residences in a real estate development located nearby, according to the City.
The municipal council and the citizens approved the loan regulation of 6.6 million, but the matter is not settled since the City is still waiting for a government subsidy, under the PRIMEAU program, which could cover 65% of the bill. “We have the file under control, but the more we discuss with the ministries, the more we learn,” says Jimmy Poulin, general director of Cèdres, with irony. As for the citizens served by this network which will be municipalized, their bill should remain approximately the same as currently, assures Mr. Poulin.
It’s a network that is still outdated. We're not tempted, but it might be the only solution we have left. We don't want to experience that. We just want water.
— Jean-François Roy
Government assistance is essential for small municipalities, which are not able to spend millions to bring outdated infrastructure up to standard. The municipality of Saint-Donat, in Bas-Saint-Laurent, is considering taking charge of the private aqueduct network which serves the Mont Comi ski resort and around a hundred residences. But like others, she is waiting to see if her project can qualify for grants. In his case, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs considers the residents concerned as vacationers, although the majority are permanent residents, in reality, underlines Mayor Pascal Rioux.