Québec, June 5, 2009 – On the occasion of the official inauguration of the new water treatment plant in the City of Québec’s Charlesbourg district, Michel Pigeon, Member of the National Assembly for Charlesbourg and Parliamentary Assistant to the Ministre de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, acting on behalf of Nathalie Normandeau, Deputy Premier of Quebec and Ministre des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire, today joined Daniel Petit, Member of Parliament for Charlesbourg–Haute-Saint-Charles, acting on behalf of the Honourable Denis Lebel, Minister of State for Canada Economic Development, in noting that the City of Québec received $16,736,000 in joint government funding under the Canada-Quebec Infrastructure Works program to carry out its project to bring the drinking water in this sector up to standard.
“I join you in celebrating the inauguration of this water treatment plant in the Charlesbourg district. These new facilities will enable the City of Québec to meet the water quality standards now in force, while also guaranteeing essential services to the population and contributing to the modernization of community infrastructure from a sustainable development standpoint,” stated the MNA for Charlesbourg.
“The Charlesbourg district will now be equipped with much-needed ultra-modern infrastructure. I am delighted to see the extent to which the partnership and coordinated efforts of the municipalities, Government of Quebec and Government of Canada are improving the quality of life of Quebecers,” added MP Daniel Petit.
This project involved installing a new raw water supply intake beside the existing intake in Lac des Roches and building a raw water booster station (the des Érables station), including a 145 square-metre service building, at the north-west end of Lacroix Street. These improvements also required construction of a 2,500 square-metre filtration plant about 200 metres east of Lac des Roches Road and of an underground drinking water reservoir with a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres adjacent to the filtration plant, along with various complementary works.
This sector of the city had formerly drawn its supply from three raw water sources, namely Lac des Roches, the des Érables reservoir and the Bon-Pasteur springs, and the drinking water from these sources was only treated through chlorine disinfection. With its treatment capacity of 56,000 cubic metres per day, which corresponds to the maximum daily flow rate over a 10-year period, the new water filtration plant will allow the city to upgrade its water supply infrastructure and thereby improve the quality of the drinking water distributed to some 72,000 people in the Charlesbourg district.
Completion of this project required a total eligible investment of $33,472,000, with the City of Québec assuming $16,736,000 of the costs and the Government of Canada and Government of Quebec each contributing $8,368,000, for a combined total of $16,736,000 in joint government funding.
The Canada-Quebec Infrastructure Works program is aimed at helping communities repair, replace and build water supply, sewer and sewage treatment systems, develop projects involving experiments with new technologies and create projects that enhance, restore or construct facilities with economic, urban or regional side benefits. This aspect of the program is overseen by the Ministère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire. The program also supports highway systems and public transportation, under the responsibility of the Ministère des Transports du Québec and Infrastructures-Transport. Canada Economic Development administers the program on behalf of the Government of Canada. The program will generate work worth a total of $1.686 billion.
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Sources:
Johanne Levesque
Communications Advisor
Communications Branch
Ministère des Affaires municipales, des
Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire
514-873-6910
Information:
Christian Tanguay
Press Secretary
Office of the Deputy Premier and
Ministre des Affaires municipales,
des Régions et de l’Occupation du territoire
418-691-2050
Stéphanie Desforges
Senior Special Assistant
Office of the Honourable Denis Lebel
Canada Economic Development
514-496-1282
François Bélisle
Communications
Canada Economic Development
819-825-5260 ext. 235
