“Ah! I have so many memories to tell! » the abandoned lake confided to me. Yes, I communicated with the lake as I sometimes do with certain trees during my hikes in the forest. I recognize them and I even have the impression that they know all my secrets.
By reading the very beautiful book by Boucar Diouf, Give back to these trees what belongs to these trees, in which he gives voice to a large baobab tree, I realized that the lake could also reveal its secrets to us. So I decided to listen and listen to his story.
“It all started in 1933 when Léonidas Dufresne erected a dam on the waters of the Doncaster stream. By thus retaining the waters of the stream, I became the magnificent Sapinière Lake, in the heart of the village of Val-David.
Ah! I have had moments of glory. The last century was grandiose! With the construction of the famous La Sapinière hotel on the edge of my banks by the Dufresne family, the estate naturally attracted a prestigious clientele. I met kings and queens, ministers and MPs, hockey players from the Montreal Canadiens and artists from around the world. Without forgetting the people who came to celebrate their wedding and the thousands of Quebecers who came to spend the weekend traveling by the P’tit Train du Nord. Val-David had become the cradle of hospitality in Quebec.
In the summer, I loved it when people borrowed a canoe or a pedal boat to enjoy the wonderful spectacle that I happily offered them.
Everything was fine. Humans, fauna and flora had happy moments with me. I had even forgotten that I was entirely dependent on humans for the management and maintenance of the dam. Then, a few years ago, the hotel, the estate and even the lake were sold, then resold. Since then, the management and maintenance of the dam has become problematic. Subsequently, experts said the dam was no longer safe and needed to be rebuilt.
In 2021, the worst happened. I was impatiently waiting for the water to come, but the water did not arrive. Due to a large chicane, the dam was not reinstalled. Everyone was sorry to see my bed dried up. My ecosystems suffered serious damage, ducks had to find other shelters, frogs became silent, wetland vegetation dried up.
A petition was launched that year for the municipality to take care of me, but without success. The discussions drag on and I have now lost my identity.
My confidante told me that things could get better for me, that the conflict would soon be resolved, that the village officials would take care of my dam. Finally, she told me to keep hope, and that I would once again be able to bring joy to the inhabitants of the village and its many visitors. »
However, I was careful not to confide my growing concern about this environmental disaster to the lake. To date, no concrete action has been taken to find the lake, neither by the owners of the dam, nor by the municipality, nor by the MRC des Laurentides. Currently, the famous hotel has fallen prey to vandalism and the environment of Lake Sapinière continues to deteriorate. How sad !