Aqueduct project in the village - Follow-up of the file and call for solidarity
15 juin 2022
Aqueduct project in the village - Follow-up of the file and call for solidarity
Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville, June 14, 2022 - The Municipality of Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville wishes to inform its citizens about the future water supply system that will serve the village.
Indeed, Mr. Serge Beaudoin, Mayor of Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville is in continuous contact with Mrs. Andrée Laforest, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, as she is his interlocutor in this priority file for the Council. Recently, new documents were produced by the GBI firm to provide additional elements, all at the request of the Ministry concerned.
Despite a fierce desire to move this file forward, the Municipality is facing a major hurdle since the 1,800 or so Quebec government engineers have been on strike since April 22, 2022. Although the engineers suspended their strike on May 19, it resumed on June 1, 2022, for an indefinite period. This has the effect that the file concerning the aqueduct in the village is on ice at the Ministry for the moment. This situation is beyond the control of the Municipality and is slowing down the processing of this important file for its citizens.
In order to be transparent with its population, the Council wishes to shed light on the project's budget. In the past, the cost estimate for this project was $8,000,000 and the route of the future water system passed through Venise-en-Québec. This project was not viable because it did not take into account the construction of a water treatment plant and did not provide sufficient pressure to supply the village. In addition, this route collected fewer residences needing water and therefore, the granting of subsidies was less.
Today, the reality is quite different as the route to bring water to the village will pass through Henryville and will collect more houses needing to be connected to the future water and sewer systems. The cost to complete this major project is approximately $23,600,000. This is due to the change in route from Henryville to Bord de l'eau Road and then to Front Nord Road, the increase in infrastructure costs, the addition of a water treatment plant and the sewer system.
The route through Bord de l'eau and then Front Nord allows us to connect a maximum number of homes to the future water and sewer systems and to obtain more subsidies. It is necessary to plan the monetary impact of these major infrastructure projects.
As for the need to provide the village with a sewer system and a water treatment plant, it is an unavoidable project given the lack of maintenance of the septic tanks and drainfields which contribute to the pollution of the water table and, by the same token, to the contamination of the residential artesian wells which are supplied with water when they are not dry. The construction of the water treatment plant amounts to 2.7 million dollars to date. The fact that the Municipality is located in an agricultural zone does not help the situation.
The Municipality has succeeded in obtaining subsidies for an amount of 6.5 million from the PRIMEAU program. This is not enough given the magnitude of the total costs for the realization of this project and the inability for the citizens concerned to fiscally support the balance of the project. Indeed, the citizens served would have to pay a sector tax that is too high for their financial capacity.
As for the municipal or governmental buildings, their connection will be supported by all taxpayers. This is why the Municipality needs to obtain additional subsidies from the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l'Habitation.
For all these reasons, M. Serge Beaudoin is multiplying his interventions with different governemental actors, notably with the Premier of Quebec, Mr. François Legault. He sent an e-mail on June 13 to reiterate the urgency of the situation in the the urgency of the situation in the municipality. He is awaiting a response from the Prime Minister.
Last year, Mr. Beaudoin had contacted the press to report about the Municipality and the distress of the citizens who had been suffering from this injustice for so many years. A follow-up will be done shortly with the media to inform them of the status of this thorny issue.
Access to clean water is a basic need that unfortunately is not met in 2022 for the entire community of Clarenceville. This situation is so serious that it creates worrying situations for both physical and mental health. The stress experienced by families in water shortage is high and it is unacceptable that such an essential service is not accessible to all.
Today, the municipal council is urging Clarencevillois to send an email to the different ministries to question them on the urgency of the situation in the village. Council is calling on the solidarity of all its residents, including those who are served by the water system and whose properties are close to Lake Champlain. It is more than time to unite and as the motto of the Three Musketeers says so well: one for all, all for one!
"In the next few days, our citizens will receive the procedure to follow in both languages to send a pre-established letter in French that will be posted on the Municipality's website. This letter being addressed to the Government of Quebec, it must be sent in French. The e-mail addresses of the departments that are to receive this letter will be published on the Municipality's website. They will be the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of Health and Social Services, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transport and the Montérégie Region. The time has come for our citizens to be heard finally. We are a small, close-knit community and I am counting on each and every one of my citizens to take a few minutes to express their dissatisfaction with our government for a situation that has gone on for too long. Only together can we be stronger and make things happen! I can't believe it has come to this, but war is war. The citizens of the village are counting on you, I am counting on you", declared Mr. Serge Beaudoin, mayor of Saint-Georges-de-Clarenceville.
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Source :
Direction générale
450 294-2464
