In 15 years, Quebec has taken giant steps to better understand its groundwater. Despite the progress of science, however, knowledge struggles to reach the decision-makers who, in many cases, manage the development of cities blindly, without taking into account the limits of the water tables hidden in their basement.
Map underground springs
At the turn of the millennium, Quebec knew almost nothing about its groundwater, a resource that nevertheless waters a quarter of the Quebec population. It was not until 2008 that the Ministry of the Environment, at the instigation of the Liberal government, launched the groundwater knowledge acquisition projects (PACES), a vast project that mobilized the university community across Quebec.
The PACES have made it possible to know, over almost the entire territory of Quebec, the characteristics of groundwater. “We have data on the geological formation of aquifers, on their recharge capacity, that is to say their ability to renew themselves, on the quality of the water, on the pressures, i.e. the place where exert pumping on the flow of runoff water to groundwater as well,” explains Marie Larocque, professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and holder of the Research Chair in Water and conservation of the territory of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).
At the beginning of May, an initial inventory of scientific knowledge on groundwater was published on the website of the Quebec Ministry of the Environment, the first step towards the creation of a Quebec groundwater observatory. The result of two years of work, this inventory concentrates in a single portal “almost everything that exists in Quebec on groundwater,” explains Marie Larocque. “We were very late,” says the researcher. We have made up for this delay a little today: we have maps that can be used by everyone and a groundwater monitoring network that has 263 stations in Quebec. »
Sharing knowledge to municipalities
Since 2011, the Quebec Network on Groundwater (RQES) has been dedicated to acquiring and, above all, sharing knowledge with water managers in Quebec.
“Research is good, but it also has to be used for something,” says Marie Larocque. In recent years, the expert observes that the municipal world has whetted its appetite to plan its development based on its underground water sources. Several municipalities, such as Saint Lin–Laurentides and Sutton, have learned the hard way what it costs to reach the limit of a water table.
“We feel an awareness, especially since 2021, because there are more and more problems related to groundwater, observes Marie Larocque. Policy makers are eager to know what to do with it. »
In a brief submitted on May 9, the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM) recommends that Bill 20 on the institution of the Blue Fund, currently under study, require better transmission of knowledge and, above all, give planning tools for cities and RCMs.
“Projects underway in certain regions of Quebec aimed at the protection and development of groundwater as a follow-up to PACES do not currently benefit from any state support,” deplores the FQM. The consequences of laissez-faire can be costly, as recent examples demonstrate.
A resource to protect
Groundwater provides water for a quarter of the population of Quebec, more than two million people. The small town of Saint-Hubert-de-Rivière-du-Loup learned last week of the fragility of this resource – and the extremely high cost of replacing it in the event of contamination, a tangible possibility since the contamination of its well. main to hydrocarbons.
Île d’Orléans has been experiencing recurring water quality problems for decades. Groundwater meets almost all of the needs of Orléans residents: an economical solution, but one that involves risks in a territory 95% devoted to agricultural activities.
“We know that we have to be very, very, very vigilant to protect what we have,” maintains the Warden of the MRC of Île-d’Orléans, Lina Labbé. It would cost a fortune to build an aqueduct. »
The topography of the island in the shape of a dome makes the waters used by agriculture flow in the center, towards the wells which water the population scattered on the periphery. This geographic reality makes underground springs more vulnerable to contamination: in 1995, poor water quality even led to an outbreak of hepatitis A among Orleans residents. Over the past 30 years, analyzes have notably revealed significant concentrations of nitrates, pesticides and coliform bacteria in the island’s wells.
The prefect ensures that the agricultural world is increasing its efforts to preserve the resource. “They are aware of it and they want to protect the water,” says Lina Labbé. Concern, however, is present among Orleans residents. According to a survey conducted by female master’s students at Laval University in 2022, two-thirds of the 180 respondents said they were “very concerned” about the quantity and quality of water on the island.
Among them, 35% refused to drink the water that came out of their tap.