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Save the River and Sen. Ritchie speak out against Montreal dumping 2.1 billion gallons of sewage in St. Lawrence River

Posted 11/11/15

North Country Sen. Patty Ritchie and Save the River Executive Director Lee Willbanks are both upset Montreal’s dumping billions of gallons of sewage into the St. Lawrence River. “As someone who …

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Save the River and Sen. Ritchie speak out against Montreal dumping 2.1 billion gallons of sewage in St. Lawrence River

Posted

North Country Sen. Patty Ritchie and Save the River Executive Director Lee Willbanks are both upset Montreal’s dumping billions of gallons of sewage into the St. Lawrence River.

“As someone who lives not far from the St. Lawrence River, and the representative of thousands of people who live on its shores, I am extremely disappointed by Montreal’s decision to move forward with the dumping of sewage into what is one of the world’s greatest waterways,” Ritchie said. “In its rationale for moving forward with the dumping, one of the factors Montreal cites is aging infrastructure. Simply put, it’s outrageous that Montreal, which has been known as one of the world’s most environmentally friendly and clean cities, would allow its infrastructure to get to a point where they say that the only credible option is dumping raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River.”

On Monday, Ritchie met with the delegate-general of Quebec province and expressed her concerns.

“In addition to environmental impacts, I also shared with him that I remain concerned about the message this decision could potentially send to other municipalities along the St. Lawrence River, who now may view the waterway as a dumping ground for sewage and other dangerous pollutants,” she said. “The St. Lawrence River is a natural treasure, and we’re so fortunate to have this unique and unmatched resource in our region. It’s unsettling to see Montreal have so little disregard for the waterway, the wildlife that inhabits it and those that live along its shores. The bottom line is that we need to work together and do more to protect the St. Lawrence—not pollute it.”

Willbanks who leads Save the River, an activist group dedicated to protecting the St. Lawrence River shared similar views.

“Canada’s Federal government has given the go ahead to the City of Montreal to dump billions of gallons of raw sewage into the St. Lawrence River. This decision is the latest in a series of poor planning choices that will end with major pollution of the St. Lawrence River, and makes it clear that we must set a better course for the future,” Save the River Executive Director Lee Willbanks said in a released statement.

“We are, of course, disappointed that the dumping of raw sewage will be allowed.” Willbanks said. “It should always be the goal of every responsible government to prevent the deliberate fouling of our freshwater. The City placed itself and the new federal government in a difficult position by failing to plan as carefully for the handling of 8 billion litres (2.1 billion gallons) of sewage as it planned for the streetscape above.”

From the beginning, Save The River has supported the citizens who have spoken out against this plan. With them we have demanded a better solution – not because we are downstream, but because in issues of freshwater, we are all connected. And while Environment Canada has imposed conditions for the release, these conditions do nothing to diminish the effects of the discharge. At best they allow the City to monitor itself and catalog the issues it finds, according to Willbanks.

"We do applaud the recognition that the perspective and concerns of indigenous people are frequently disregarded in government decision making. But with respect to everyone's need for freshwater, the final condition falls far short." Willbanks continued, "The way to ensure respectful relations with all groups interested in clean freshwater is to commit to building and maintaining the infrastructure necessary to keep it clean."

Today we recognize that it's not just the citizens of Montreal, but of all municipalities that still utilize this type of 19th century solution to wastewater treatment that need their governments to do better. Unfortunately there are many, he said.

According to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, more than 24 billion gallons of combined untreated sewage and stormwater is dumped into the Great Lakes each year, and the Environmental Protection Agency reports 772 cities across the U.S. have combined sewage and stormwater systems, which release untreated sewage into surface water in wet conditions.

"The only way out of this mess is to have citizens come together and prioritize the unglamorous and expensive work of upgrading our aging sewage systems, and demand that their elected officials at all levels of government do the same." said Willbanks. "We must do better to protect our precious freshwater and assure swimmable, drinkable, fishable water for generations to come."