Phenomenal quantities of water contaminated by fecal matter continue to be discharged into the St. Lawrence River and into the rivers of Quebec. These failures in sanitation systems have not seen any real improvement in 2020, reveals the most recent report from the Fondation Rivières.
Impossible to know the number of liters of wastewater discharged, because it is not measured. However, this foundation calculates an intensity index which takes into account the size of the structure that overflowed, as well as the duration and frequency of these overflows. “It’s really what allows us to compare cities of different sizes and the performance of each,” said its director, André Bélanger, in an interview with The duty.
Longueuil keeps the worst result in terms of intensity among the big cities on this lackluster list, closely followed by surrounding municipalities like Brossard, Boucherville and Saint-Lambert. Montreal and Laval experience a slight improvement when their respective results are weighted according to population.
Mr. Bélanger compares overflows to the water that would escape from an overflow in a sink or a bath: “By definition, this is what also floats. »So feces escape every time, but also tampons, disposable wipes, cigarette butts or other solid materials.
It is especially after heavy precipitation or during snowmelt that spills take place, recognizes the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change (MELCC).
The ministry notes that a large part of these pipes drains not only wastewater, but also rainwater, and therefore has a more limited capacity.
However, some municipalities have recorded a significant number of overflows in dry weather, which are prohibited. Quebec City has experienced 288 in particular. Adding the “emergency” overflows, we counted a total of 318 days with overflows, almost every day of the year.
Situations qualified as “emergency” are in fact permitted by the MELCC according to certain parameters. An emergency overflow can be caused by a breakage, an electrical failure or even during scheduled maintenance work. “It is not because they are the law that it is necessarily good for the environment”, remarks Mr. Bélanger, however.
Little debated in the countryside
Other municipalities with a large population fare better, such as Sherbrooke, but “only because it does not measure much,” he said. Cities are required to install an electronic overflow recorder within one year of a “non-urgent” (therefore not allowed) event. However, of all the events that these devices should have noted, less than 65% were recorded.
Some highly publicized events, often referred to as ” flushgate », As in Montreal, Trois-Rivières or Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, as well as the growing desire of citizens to be able to bathe have helped to publicize the problem. But the current municipal campaigns virtually ignore this issue. “We are all pro-environment, but putting money in an overflow structure or a purification plant is less sexy than a skating rink or a green space, ”describes Mr. Bélanger.
Remember that there are still 81 municipalities in Quebec without a treatment plant, another well-documented problem that has persisted for a long time. These localities have a sewage system; the black and gray water collected in this way is not treated, it is discharged directly into the river or into the rivers.
They represent less than 1% of the population, according to the MELCC, but have now exceeded the regulatory deadline by seven years to carry out a wastewater treatment plant project. The cost of these facilities is involved, but not only: “even to seek subsidies, you need money to pay for an expertise,” explains Jacques Demers, president of the Fédération québécoise des municipalities. This body has just received $ 900,000 from Quebec to support municipalities by deploying specialized engineers in particular. Mr. Demers also emphasizes that the cost of maintenance must be taken into account after the simple construction.