PRESS RELEASE
FOR BROADCAST ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28 AT 8:00 A.M.
Montreal, June 28, 2023 – Approaching the Grand Splash at the Old Port of Montreal, the Fondation Rivières reveals a map listing 57 sites where the water quality allows swimming on the banks of Montreal. The map also reveals 106 sites where the water quality allows the practice of nautical activities involving indirect contact with the water (kayak, paddle board, sport fishing, etc.).
This potential is not shared in Laval, even though there is only one place suitable for swimming. In light of this data, the City of Laval would benefit from redoubled efforts to clean up its wastewater, and the City of Montreal, from putting its shoulder to the wheel to provide access to bodies of water.
Strong potential for nautical activities in Montreal, unlike Laval
The Foundation analyzed the data collected by the Aquatic Environment Monitoring Network (AMR) based on the weather which takes measurements at 115 locations around Montreal. This analysis shows that in Montreal there are approximately one site in two (57) sampled where at least 90 % samples show water quality allowing swimming in dry weather. With sewage overflows during rainy weather, there are only 25 locations sampled that remain swimmable.
On the Laval side, only the Marina in Laval-Sur-Le-Lac is suitable for swimming and 24 sampled sites allow the practice of indirect contact nautical activities, but only in dry weather. In rainy weather, there are only 9 left out of the 32 sites sampled, one of the consequences of wastewater overflows upstream and downstream of the Mille-Îles River Park.
In dry weather, there is a major problem on the Rivière des Prairies east of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, where even the practice of indirect contact nautical activities is not recommended. This area collects the water carried by the La Pinière stream which opens upstream of the Brise bank. The La Pinière stream is recognized as an open sewer.
A crying need for access to water in the center and east of Montreal
In Montreal, places where the water quality allows swimming are mainly concentrated in the west of the island, where there are already three free public access points to the water: at Verdun beach, at the park -nature of Cap-Saint-Jacques and the Bois-de-l’Île-Bizard nature park. However, it is especially the center and the east which would benefit from cooling sources as demonstrated by the interactive map of urban heat/cool islands from the Quebec Public Health Geoportal (2022).
The Bellerive Promenade park, whose official opening was to be held in the summer of 2022, displays a perfect score for respecting the compliance threshold for swimming in dry weather. This is also the case for the future Lachine riverside park, the opening of which was initially planned for this summer. The eastern beach, however, does not rank since only 80 % analyzes revealed water quality suitable for swimming in dry weather. This latest project is compromised by problems of contamination of the beach coastline and by the potential presence of seagrass beds on which the copper redhorse, a species threatened with extinction, feeds.
The Old Port of Montreal is also one of the places with clean water for swimming in dry weather. Valérie Plante committed to opening a port bath there during the election period in 2017 and the project is included in the latest Nature and Sports Plan (2021). If the weather permits, a Grand Splash will take place on June 30 to claim a port bath, like in Quebec (possibility of postponement to July 7).
“It's not just swimming or beaches to enjoy the water: Montreal is full of places to cool off with water activities like paddle boarding. We are surprised to see that Montreal is not taking this path,” declares André Bélanger, general director of Fondation Rivières.
What harms water quality?
Dry weather contamination problems are generally caused by problems with reverse connections, that is to say residential or commercial sewer pipes connected to the stormwater network. This results in wastewater being released into waterways without treatment. This is a phenomenon known to the City of Montreal for many years. Swimming in urban areas is often impossible after heavy rains, which are accompanied by sewage overflows, affecting water quality.
Methodology and details
This analysis of the Fondation Rivières is based on data from the RSMA of the City of Montreal between 2003 and 2022 and on those of the City of Laval between 2001 and 2022. The City of Laval sampled 32 sites on its territory in 2022 while the RSMA sampled 115, a dozen more sites than the previous year. Only sites where samples were taken over a minimum of five consecutive years, part of which occurred during the last ten years, were retained.
In Quebec, the fecal coliform concentration standards for swimming are set at a maximum of 200 CFU/100mL (Colony Forming Unit) and at 1,000 CFU/100mL for indirect contact activities. Dry weather in Montreal is associated with a period without rain at least 48 hours before sampling, and in Laval, 24 hours before sampling. Parameters relating to water flow and security of access installations are excluded.
– 30 –
Source
Sophie Lachance
Communications and Mobilization Manager
Fondation Rivières
514-272-2666, ext. 307
Photo: Dominique Tosini
