Residents of Saint-Basile will soon no longer need to boil their water, sporadically, to consume it. A new treatment plant will come into service in early spring.
As part of the Municipal Water Infrastructure Program (PRIMEAU), Portneuf MNA Vincent Caron announced financial assistance of $3,943,057 to the City of Saint-Basile. This will allow the upgrading of the drinking water treatment system of the Sainte-Anne water supply network, which supplies nearly 1,000 users. “We have to work as efficiently underground as above ground because this water resource is essential. We know that when we have a boil water advisory, it’s just uncomfortable. Not only will the improvements guarantee superior quality drinking water, but they will also ensure the health and well-being of the population today and tomorrow,” he said.
UV disinfection
To achieve this, the new service building will be located at the connection point of the water sources on the site of Rang Sainte-Anne and a pumping system will be installed. The work also involves including a treatment system allowing UV disinfection, chlorine disinfection, corrosion control and pH adjustment.
“Following two consecutive notices from the Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks concerning occasional but recurring bacteriological contamination of the water in our Sainte-Anne well, the City had no choice, and in the very short term, but to modernize its facilities at the head of its network,” explains Saint-Basile Mayor Guillaume Vézina, while mentioning that the process has been underway since 2018. “At the time, we already knew that we were embarking on work costing nearly $3 million and there was no question of subsidies. We still decided to consult professionals to find out what a disinfection system would look like, where it could be installed and what the costs would be,” he adds.
Plan of the new drinking water treatment plant. Illustration: Courtesy of the City of Saint-Basile
Works funded at 95%
The gesture paid off since Saint-Basile benefited from the new increase in effect since April 2024. “This increase allows our city to aim for a financial support rate of 95% in this project and rewards our efforts in recent years surrounding the documentation and recovery of our assets. It is a big investment with very little outlay for the City, for a problem that we had to solve for several years,” explains the mayor. Moreover, he wanted to thank all the stakeholders involved in the file since the beginning.
