Helping cities and towns adapt to climate change, reduce flood risks, modernize water treatment infrastructure, better administer wastewater, ensure access to potable blue gold in sufficient quantity… These are some of the challenges that the new Municipal Chair in Sustainable Water Management, created last February, aims to respond to.
The project, led by the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), is the result of a partnership with the Fédération québécoise des municipalities (FQM). This is a unique initiative for the FQM, which is partnering for the first time with a research chair. “If we have to manage water, it’s obvious that it goes through the municipalities. It was natural for us to go there, because almost everyone wants the best methods to improve themselves,” explains Jacques Demers, president of the FQM. He is also delighted with this collaboration, which will make it possible to deploy specialists looking for concrete solutions on the ground.
The goal of such a chair is to consolidate research groups that are already looking at Quebec blue gold in order to improve its management in cities. “We wanted to do it more efficiently and for it to really respond to the most pressing needs of the localities,” underlines Sophie Duchesne, professor and researcher at INRS. The idea is to bring together all the stakeholders around the same table in order to define research priorities, adds the woman who also holds the Municipal Chair in sustainable water management.
Multiple search fields
The chair aims first and foremost to preserve the essential resource that is blue gold in Quebec, summarizes Mr. Demers. “We know we have to protect it and as best we can,” he said. These discoveries can therefore be used to strengthen resilience to flood risks, better manage wastewater, etc. “How can we use our equipment to have less wastewater to treat and do it in a better way? » asks Mr. Demers. The work can also address the issue of rainwater and the challenges of supplying drinking water, adds Mme Duchesne.
Contrary to the persistent myth that there is no shortage of water in the province, many localities are already experiencing supply problems. Some locations at different times of the year may see their reserves drop to a critical degree. “Several small municipalities use underground wells. When we have episodes where there is less precipitation for a few weeks, during the summer for example, the level of the water tables goes down. So, often, the wells are no longer sufficient to supply the demand of these villages,” illustrates M.me Duchesne.
This also means that certain municipalities must slow down their development, due to a lack of water sources. Sectors must now prohibit the creation of residences due to a lack of suitable groundwater. “These are analyzes that we increasingly need to make decisions: where to build? At what volume? » raises Mr. Demers.
Some smaller cities do not have the same infrastructure as large urban centers. In order to ensure equal quality of equipment and services provided to citizens, many are wondering what are the ways to achieve this. “There is also a question of cost. This is really among our concerns,” underlines the president of the FQM.
Thus, many municipalities have both challenges regarding adequate facilities and the quantities of water available. “When we develop infrastructure, it is based on the climate we have experienced in the past. We designed wells with a certain water level. But if it’s lower, it’s not going to work well. So, it’s a problem at the infrastructure level,” explains M.me Duchesne.
But some municipalities are experiencing problems at the source, especially those that rely on groundwater. “There may be others further away, we can make another well, but that represents costs,” continues the researcher. And unfortunately, with climate change, these things are going to get worse in the future. »
Some possible solutions
In order to ensure blue gold in sufficient quantity and quality for everyone, it is possible to reduce our water consumption, suggests Mme Duchesne. “But it can also be to develop new techniques to reduce losses in the networks. »
Sound management also involves reducing wastewater overflows during rainy periods. This may also involve revegetating certain infrastructures, such as parking lots with permeable paving, so that the water left by precipitation infiltrates instead of sending it into the sewers. “These are all things for which solutions already exist. But what we’re looking for is how we can do all of this at the lowest cost in the most efficient way possible. »
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