Most Quebecers get their drinking water from municipal aqueducts or individual wells. But there are still several hundred private aqueducts in Quebec. In many cases, these are vestiges of a time when landowners developed real estate and provided their own water supply. Decades later, with aging aqueduct systems, many 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 the Eastern Townships, have had to boil their water before drinking it. This is because coliforms have occasionally been detected in this water, which comes from a common well, and the Ministry of the Environment issued a boil water advisory that has never been lifted.
But the situation could change starting in the fall. At least that’s what this rural municipality of some 2,350 residents is hoping.
The whole story has been a long ordeal, admits Brigham CEO Pierre Lefebvre. The problem stems from a private aqueduct built in the 1970s by a landowner who had divided up his land to develop real estate. Twenty-three residences are supplied by this aqueduct, which is connected to a well.
In 2006, the owner was no longer able to operate this water system, so Quebec transferred responsibility to the municipality — which did not want it — and a boil water advisory was issued, given 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 solve the problem with exorbitant costs,” says Mr. Lefebvre, who has been in office since 2017. In 2010, the municipality explored the possibility of connecting this network to that of Cowansville. “But it cost a fortune, for about 25 people,” explains the official. The option of individual wells also had to be ruled out due to the small size of some lots and the presence of leaching fields.
After developing various projects, calls for tenders and overly expensive bids, the municipality finally opted for upgrading the water system and building a building for water treatment equipment. Project cost: $1.5 million. Brigham will, however, benefit from a grant from the Municipal Water Infrastructure Program (PRIMEAU) covering 95% of the bill. Work began in the spring and should be completed in August.
“We are correcting the mistakes of the past,” says Mr. Lefebvre, who points out that this type of development dates back to a time before the creation of the Commission for the Protection of Agricultural Land in Quebec and development plans.
Clarified rules
In 2015, a report from the Québec Ombudsman highlighted that there were 526 private water systems in Québec, serving 60,000 people, or about 1% of the population, and that some of them were experiencing water quality problems. At the time, 97 water systems had been subject to a boil water advisory and 27 had been subject to a do-not-drink advisory for more than three years. The Québec Ombudsman then urged the Ministry of the Environment to better manage the systems affected by such advisories.
The Ministry of the Environment assures that it has taken measures to better regulate private waterworks. The new Regulation respecting private waterworks and sewers, which came into force in March 2018, clarifies the duties of private operators and the methods for 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 conduct regular sampling.
In an email, the ministry points out that most cases of private waterworks affected by long-term boil water or non-consumption advisories have been resolved following the introduction of a new intervention framework. However, it recognizes that, in some cases, the solutions can be very costly.
Difficult choices
Residents of the Larouche sector of the former municipality of Saint-Louis-de-France, now merged with Trois-Rivières, do not have water quality problems, but they have been plunged into uncertainty for several months.
The 112 homes in the area are supplied by three wells connected to a private aqueduct. However, the Latras company, which has owned it since the 1970s, wants to abandon the operation of the network. Last May, the City of Trois-Rivières called the area’s residents 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 is not favouring this option – although it could be required to do so by a court, admitted a municipal official 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, explained Mr. Roy. Another scenario proposes that citizens come together to take charge of the network and operate it.
These solutions are not going 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 obsolete. We don’t want to, but it may be the only solution we have left. We don’t want to live with that. We just want water.”
Waiting for grants
Unlike Trois-Rivières, the municipality of Les Cèdres in Montérégie sees an advantage in acquiring the private water and sewer systems that currently serve 198 homes in its Lucerne sector. The project will allow the municipality to acquire a third drinking water reserve, and the water lines will supply the approximately 400 homes in a nearby real estate development, according to the city.
The city council and citizens approved the $6.6 million borrowing bylaw, 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 manager of Les Cèdres, with irony. As for the citizens served by this network that will be municipalized, their bill should remain roughly the same as it is currently, assures Mr. Poulin.
It’s a network that is still obsolete. It doesn’t tempt us, but it might be the only solution we have left. We don’t want to live like that. We just want water.
Government assistance is essential for small municipalities that are unable to spend millions to upgrade outdated infrastructure. The municipality of Saint-Donat, in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, is considering taking over the private water supply network that serves the Mont Comi ski resort and about a hundred residences. But like others, it is waiting to see if its project will qualify for subsidies. In its case, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs considers the residents concerned to be vacationers, although in reality they are mostly permanent residents, emphasizes Mayor Pascal Rioux.