Recreational boating on the Richelieu is slowing down. Four riverside municipalities have started installing buoys with speed limits. They hope that this visual reminder, although small, will encourage boat operators to avoid causing too many waves.
The Richelieu River sometimes feels like a highway in the summer. Between Sorel and the United States, boats travel very fast, sometimes recklessly, and often without taking other vessels into account. The waves caused by the boldest of them erode both the banks and the patience of swimmers, observes Julie Lussier, the mayor of Saint-Charles-sur-Richelieu.
“There’s the size of the boats, plus the water activities, plus the speed. There’s a big problem for users,” she explains. Her village adopted a bylaw at the beginning of the year to curb these incivilities, and in the last few days, its teams have started installing signaling buoys approved by Transport Canada.
“Maximum 10 km/h” buoys along the banks and “maximum 50 km/h” in the middle of the river appear along a 20-kilometre stretch. A “No water skiing” sign is also visible on these small floats.
The municipalities of Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu and Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu will install theirs in the coming weeks.
“Regulation is one more tool for the Sûreté du Québec when there is abuse, excess and security problems,” explains the mayor of Saint-Charles.
The installation of these buoys “will help boaters better understand the regulations in force, but will also help police officers improve their evidence when a ticket is issued, if applicable,” confirms in writing a spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec, Ann Mathieu.
A new wave of bans
Police officers, cadets and volunteer organizations patrolled the Richelieu this summer to inform boaters that new speed regulations were in effect this summer. Signs on the water access ramps also invite users to respect the navigation code.
Josée Côté, general director of Nautisme Québec, would have preferred to focus more on this pedagogy to promote living together on the river. “These are obstacles to the practice. We want to encourage the practice through awareness and education,” she tells the Duty.
People know it [qu’ils doivent réduire leur vitesse]. But as long as the police aren’t there… It’s like on the road…
Some behaviours are eminently reprehensible, according to her, such as causing waves in front of marinas. On the other hand, the regulations that prohibit pulling a person on the water and surfing along the Richelieu River at specific times (from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays) displease her.
Josée Côté suggests that it would have been better to demarcate “wave-free sections” on the Richelieu, because it is these large waves that are disturbing, not the speed. However, she encourages all boat drivers to respect the signage.
Protecting local residents and nature
Others would have preferred to see these buoys appear a little earlier. Raynald Collard, of the Association des riverains et amis du Richelieu, notes that they had been promised at the beginning of the summer and that awareness-raising has not really improved things.
“Nowadays, boaters can plead ignorance. People know that [qu’ils doivent réduire leur vitesse]. But as long as the police aren’t there… It’s like on the road…”
Not only do the waves disturb swimmers and anyone who kayaks or canoes, but they also damage the river’s ecology. The copper redhorse, a threatened fish found only in Quebec, is suffering from this cohabitation.
The small corner of the river between Jeannotte Island and Cerf Island, an important habitat for fish reproduction, is subject to a “ban on mechanical or electric propulsion.” However, several boats still circulate in this critical area and take advantage of its isolated aspect to anchor there and party, confirmed to Duty local residents well aware of the comings and goings on the river.
Raynald Collard nevertheless believes that installing buoys will greatly improve things. “There is a paradigm to change on the river, as is the case in many waterways. And a paradigm takes a long time to change.”
This text was updated after publication to add the point of view of the Sûreté du Québec.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.