Canada/The entire borough of La Baie could benefit from the future water source

Once a new water source has been identified to definitively resolve the problem of perfluorinated compound (PFAS)-contaminated water in La Baie, all three sectors of the borough could be connected.

That's what borough president Raynald Simard said on Tuesday.

Currently, affected homes in the Port-Alfred and Grande-Baie sectors are receiving virtually PFAS-free water, thanks to the installation of filtration units.

This is a temporary solution; the filters have to be changed on a regular basis. The permanent situation will mean that we won't have to go through all these steps and all this kind of monitoring," explained the borough president.

He added that once the new source has been chosen, if the quantities of water are sufficient, the City will be able to evaluate the option of supplying the entire borough of La Baie with this new facility.

Although the water complies with standards, as the wells supplying the Bagotville sector are located close to contaminated wells, Raynald Simard would prefer to err on the side of caution and leave the area completely alone.

A call for tenders

Saguenay recently issued a call for tenders to find a firm specializing in hydrogeology, whose mandate will be to identify the new location where pumping wells will be built.

This will be done in collaboration with researchers from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), who in recent years have built up an extensive database on the region's groundwater.

When you're looking for water, you have to target areas that are naturally productive in terms of groundwater and that will be able to meet demand, and here we're talking about 25,000 cubic metres per day.and the other thing is the availability of land," pointed out Romain Chesneaux, a UQAC professor of water and environmental engineering, in an interview with the TV program C'est jamais pareil.

Three potential zones

The City of Saguenay has identified three areas that could be used: two in Laterrière and one in La Baie.

When you install a pumping well for municipal water supply, not individual water supply, but municipal water supply, there are regulations that are quite restrictive when it comes to protecting wells. In other words, you're sacrificing areas within which human activities must be restricted," continued the professor.

The firm's mandate is expected to extend over three or four years, due to the many stages involved.

Last November, the bill was estimated at between $50 and $100 million. Councillor Michel Potvin indicated at the time that the federal government would cover 90% of the bill, given the role played by the Bagotville base in the contamination. Ottawa has provided $15.5 million to date.

Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/