Wastewater: 45 organizations are calling for a major clean water project

OPEN LETTER

This open letter is the collective work of around forty organizations sensitive to the issues of quality and public accessibility to water. It was transmitted through the president of the Fondation Rivières, Mr. Alain Saladzius, to the Prime Minister, Mr. François Legault, to the Minister of the Environment, Mr. Benoit Charette and to the Minister of Municipal Affairs, Mrs. Andrée Laforest , Friday June 12, 2020.

Prime Minister
Mr Minister of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change
Madam Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

On June 1, 2020, we took note of the information made public by Fondation Rivières in its press release entitled “ Wastewater treatment in Quebec: 7 out of 10 municipalities still contaminate rivers ". Following this reading, we believe that the time has come for the government to act rigorously, concretely and effectively, to protect Quebec's waterways and to ensure Quebecers have clean public access to rivers. and sanitary.

A little sanitation story

Remember that it was following the creation of the Ministry of the Environment in 1979 by Marcel Léger, under the government of René Lévesque, that the first major sanitation project was implemented. Quebec's water purification program, worth around $6 billion over a period of 10 to 20 years, was a state priority throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Before that, Quebec only purified 6 to 10 % of its domestic and industrial wastewater.

However, after 40 years and substantial sums of public money, Quebec is content with the bare minimum, even though it has everything to be a leader in the management of its water by optimizing sanitation works. Just as in the case of road and school infrastructures which have deteriorated significantly, successive governments have allowed the situation to deteriorate to the point where today, in 2020, the majority of sanitation systems are obsolete and unsuitable, without ever having been developed within a logic of integrated regional planning.

Currently, standards for the release of contaminants into the environment do not take into account the capacity of natural environments to support pollution. Indeed, all municipalities in Quebec have been waiting since 2014 to receive their “sanitation certificate”, a form of operating permit, a new standard which must tighten the maximum number of overflows that the different watersheds can tolerate. and the treatment standards to be achieved. However, the Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change has not yet issued any certificate under this regulation. According to the information obtained, the process of issuing certificates would not be completed until 2026, i.e. 12 years after the adoption of the regulation. Another consequence of the current delays is that several municipalities will find themselves in violation of the regulations on December 31, because they will still be dumping untreated water. This is a questionable situation to say the least.

The greatest natural wealth, a resource to be protected

It is regrettable that in 2020, despite billions of public funds invested, the situation of municipal wastewater overflows in Quebec's waterways is still not controlled. Worse, we note that the real number is increasing and that it is now 53,645 wastewater discharges per year! The 1001 rivers, this natural wealth envied by all countries in the world, are still treated like open sewers... We can and must do better. Many rivers and their ecosystems, including those of the majestic St. Lawrence River, have suffered from this neglect for too long. Let's put an end to the status quo and take advantage of the current crisis to initiate real societal changes.

Let's launch a major clean water project

Historically, to stimulate the economy, governments have launched major projects. This time, why not seize the opportunity to implement a major clean water project? A project considered according to the challenges of adaptation to climate change and according to the principles of green infrastructure, consistent with the notions of support capacity of natural environments and land use planning.

Let's tackle the real short-term issues such as the fact that wastewater or insufficiently treated water is discharged into our water bodies. Here are recommendations of what the major clean water project could contain:

- Support and accompany municipalities with qualified and sufficient public resources;
- Invest massively in the short term to resolve urgent problems;
- Prioritize the good management of rainwater through the development of green infrastructure;
- Develop a less bureaucratic approach and offer municipalities better support;
- Establish an interministerial secretariat dedicated to this issue in order to facilitate coordination between all ministries and public bodies concerned;
- Implement a public national dashboard allowing Quebecers to know the progress of the major project;
- Give a clear mandate and substantial funds to the MELCC for the implementation of this project and ensure commitment from the Prime Minister and the Executive Council;
- Establish regional prioritization of work at the watershed scale.

In short, the solutions exist. Let's use leadership and stop putting off what should have been done a long time ago!

We are incredibly lucky to have so many rivers in our territory. We have a collective duty to protect them.

Signatories

Fondation Rivières

Emergency Water

Nature Quebec

Grouping of Quebec watershed organizations (ROBVQ)

National grouping of regional environmental councils of Quebec (RNCREQ)

Saint-Laurent Strategies

Quebec Network of Environmental Groups (RQGE)

Saint-Maurice River watershed organization

Watershed organization of the Richelieu River and the Saint-Laurent Zone