These investments are part of the Water Strategy 2020-2030 and are aimed at improving reliability and environmental performance.
Longueuil, February 4, 2022 – The Ville de Longueuil is proactively investing heavily in water management. Over the next three years, the company will be injecting $101 million to modernize drinking water and wastewater facilities in the agglomeration. These investments are part of the company’s Water Strategy 2020-2030, and are aimed in particular at improving the reliability and environmental performance of its facilities.
“Investments in water management infrastructures are a priority and must be recurrent if we are to better protect our resources and the environment. In all, $600 million will have to be invested over 10 years to modernize drinking water and wastewater infrastructures and equipment in the agglomeration. It’s a step in the right direction today, but much remains to be done. I am committed to working with the mayors of Brossard and Saint-Lambert, as well as with the mayor of Boucherville, the cities in the Longueuil agglomeration linked to the network, whose support in this matter I welcome. I have also already initiated the necessary representations to other levels of government, as major investments will also have to be made by Quebec and Ottawa to contribute to the refurbishment and improvement of our water treatment infrastructures, with the aim of improving our environmental record. We must all commit to protecting our most precious collective resource: water,” asserted Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier.
Work at the wastewater treatment plant
Among the investments, $38 million will be used to modernize wastewater treatment facilities over the next three years, including $31 million for the Centre d’épuration Rive-Sud (CERS) alone. The plant, located on Île Charron, treats wastewater from the cities of Boucherville, Brossard, Longueuil and Saint-Lambert, with a combined population of over 400,000.
Work scheduled for this year includes the replacement of wastewater pretreatment equipment at a cost of $3.8 million, i.e. the replacement of three bar screens. The first phase of work will take place from February 7 to 21. Subsequent phases are scheduled for later in 2022.
Measures in place to reduce the risk of overflows
The CERS is equipped with three bar screens. This equipment, which intercepts large debris in the wastewater, was installed when the plant was commissioned in 1992 and has reached the end of its useful life. They must therefore be replaced one by one.
Starting on February 7, the City will replace the first bar screen over a two-week period. In the meantime, the plant will operate with two out of three bar screens. These two facilities are sufficient to treat the quantity of wastewater arriving at the plant in dry weather (excluding periods of thaw, snowmelt or heavy rain).
The city has taken every measure to minimize the risk of wastewater overflowing into the river. As a result, the work will be carried out continuously to reduce downtime for the equipment to be replaced. What’s more, the work will be carried out in winter, when heavy rainfall and snowmelt are less frequent, considerably reducing the risk of overflows or spills.
The city has obtained authorization from the Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques to proceed with the work, and has received a certificate of authorization from the same ministry in the event of overflow into the river. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs were also consulted to ensure compliance.
No impact on drinking water
It is important to note that this work will not affect the treatment of drinking water, which is produced by the territory’s other water filtration plants. Drinking water quality will remain intact and fit for consumption. No water cuts or service interruptions are required to carry out this work.
An appeal to the public: every gesture counts!
“As president of the agglomeration’s executive committee, I invite the citizens of Longueuil, Brossard, Boucherville and Saint-Lambert, as well as those who work on the territory of our towns, to do our part to minimize the risk of overflow into the river, for example by reducing the frequency of use of the washing machine or dishwasher. By using a smaller quantity of water, we’ll be helping to significantly reduce the amount that has to pass through the wastewater treatment plant. Because overflows are so damaging because they contaminate the river with waste and fecal coliforms, we all have a role to play in prevention,” says Mayor Catherine Fournier.
We invite the public to visit the Town’s website and Facebook page to find out all about the investments required, the upcoming work and the information campaign.
A little history
On the one hand, the risk of overflow is linked to the very design of the treatment plant built by the Quebec government thirty years ago. This limits its capacity to cope with heavy rainfall. On the other hand, much of the area was built at a time when sanitary and storm sewers were combined, increasing the volume of water reaching the plant in rainy or melting weather. A more extensive program of government subsidies for infrastructure would enable agglomerations like Longueuil to perform better and contribute more to the overall improvement of water quality returning to Quebec’s waterways.
Bottom of the thumbnail :
Loïc Blancquaert, member of the Saint-Lambert environment committee, Daniel Lucier, member of the finance committee and substitute for the mayor of Brossard on agglomeration issues, Jonathan Tabarah, vice-president of the executive committee, majority leader and deputy mayor of Longueuil, and Jacqueline Boubane, deputy mayor of Boucherville.
