Côteau-du-Lac, October 21, 1998 – The government partners in the St. Lawrence Action Plan Vision 2000 today made public the environmental balance sheet for the Valleyfield-Beauharnois sector. This presents a summary of our knowledge of this part of the St. Lawrence ecosystem. Michael Agnew, chair of the Upper St. Lawrence ZIP Committee, accepted the document on behalf of the many partners and residents of the community involved in the conservation of the St. Lawrence.

The Valleyfield-Beauharnois sector extends from Valleyfield to Beauharnois and includes all the outflows from Lake St. Francis into Lake St. Louis and the adjoining land. The territory includes twelve riverside municipalities combined into two regional county municipalities, the total population of which was 65,660 inhabitants in 1995.

The regional balance sheet for the sector was based on four technical reports highlighting the characteristic features of this part of the St. Lawrence, stressing sources of contamination, biological resources, uses and potential uses and the risks to human health associated with the various uses made of the River.

All four technical reports were prepared on the basis of the available data obtained from various federal and provincial government departments that are partners in the St. Lawrence Action Plan Vision 2000, with respect to which a third five-year agreement was signed last June. The departments in question are Environment Canada, Health Canada, Quebec Department of the environment and wildlife, the Quebec Department of health and social services and the Quebec Department of municipal affairs.

This balance sheet is a tool that can be used in decision-making in order to determine common priorities for the conservation and ecological rehabilitation of the Valleyfield-Beauharnois sector. It is intended for the public, industry and regional non-government organizations wishing to become involved in the conservation of their natural heritage.

In this connection, the Upper St. Lawrence ZIP Committee will carry out a public consultation in the area on November 13 and 14 in order to reach agreement on prio rities and the measure to be taken to implement an action and ecological rehabilitation plan (PARE) for the sector.

To obtain copies of the Regional Balance Sheet for the Valleyfield-Beauharnois sector and to reserve places at the public consultation on November 13 and 14, contact the Upper St. Lawrence ZIP Committee Co-ordinator, Claire Lachance, at (450) 371-2492.

Information:

Suzanne Bourget
Environment Canada
(418) 649-6510

Raymonde Goupil
Quebec Department of the environment and wildlife
(418) 521-3823, Extension 4912

Backgrounder

Environmental balance sheet
Valleyfield-Beauharnois

Generally speaking, this sector is special because of changes that have been made to the physical environment and the hydrological system to allow for the development of marine transportation and hydro-electric production. These changes took place between the beginning of the century and the 1960s. They had an impact on both the biological and the socioeconomic characteristics of this part of the River.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SECTOR

Biodiversity

· In the sector a small number of species associated with aquatic river-bank environments reproduce: 25 species of fish and 60 species of bird. The distribution of amphibians and reptiles in the sector and the frequency with which they visit it are not known. A species that is generally abundant along the river corridor, the muskrat, is not very widespread in the segment where water flow has been reduced and in the Beauharnois Canal;

· The sector is home to 22 of the 155 species that have been given priority under SLV 2000;

· The presence of important freshwater spawning grounds where yellow sturgeon, wall-eyed pike, chub and canary trich reproduce;

· Marshes, important wildlife habitats, cover only a small area of the sector (56 hectares);

· Riverside vegetation is generally poor in all the basins;

· Water-plant beds are not very widespread and are essentially located in the Beauharnois Canal for a total of 22 hectares;

· If we exclude the shores of the islands, only 15% of the 98 km of shoreline in the sector is still in its natural state;

· Between 1945 and 1988 271 ha. of habitat were lost: 208 ha. of deep-water environment and 63 ha. of wetlands;

· The islands in the bassin des Cèdres are most interesting in terms of land vegetation: common hackberry, dotted hawthorn, staghorn sumac, butternut, basswood, red elm etc.;

· In the Pointe-au-Buisson archeological park plant groups, just like the birdlife to be observed there, are very diverse.

References: Regional Balance Sheet, Chapters 4 and 5

The territory and its uses

· The sector extends from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield to Beauharnois and includes all the outflows from Lake St. Francis into Lake St. Louis (only one body of water supplies the sector, namely the Great Lakes);

· The are twelve riverside municipalities combined into two regional county municipalities (RCM of Vaudreuil-Soulanges and RCM of Beahuarnois-Salaberry);

· In 1996 the total population was 65,660 inhabitants (a 16% increase over 1976);

· Average occupation density of the territory as a whole was 138 inhabitants per km2;

· The so-called urbanized portion accounted for 19% of the total area of the sector. Most of the sector is rural and primarily agricultural in nature;

· The conurbation of Salaberry-Valleyfield represents the economic focus of the region and is also where a large part of the sector’s industrial activity is located (a second focus is located in Beauharnois-Melocheville);

· River water in the area of the study is used primarily for the following purposes: marine transportation (Beauharnois Canal and locks); hydroelectric production (Beauharnois and Les Cèdres power stations), drinking water supply, waste disposal for industry as well as recreation and tourism.

The water and the river banks in the sector offer a number of attractions for recreation and tourism, especially with the presence:

- of recreational and tourist parks of regional interest on the sides of the River (e.g. Saint-Timothée regional park, Pointe-du-Buisson archeological park and the Beauharnois Canal regional park);

- a focus for nautical activities at Salaberry-de-Valleyfield;

- sport fishing activities (although not of great importance in terms of the number of fishers and the size of the catch, this sector is interesting for catches of salmonidae hatched in running water).

Reference: Regional Balance Sheet, Chapter 4.

Human health

· Between 1976 and 1988 samples taken in Lake St. Francis indicated a substantial reduction in mercury concentrations in the flesh of the fish. This trend presumably applies throughout the sector;

· Risks relating to moderate consumption of fish from the sector are negligible. However, it is recommended that consumption of northern pike, yellow walleye and small-mouthed bass be limited;

· No risk is associated with the consumption of wildfowl meat;

· The water distributed in municipal watermains, which is used by 87% of the population, is of good quality and meets government standards;

· As a rule, it is possible to bathe and engage in other recreational activities in the water.

Reference: Regional Balance Sheet, Chapter 5

MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

The rerouting of the River (hydroelectric generating plants and water level control measures) and the installation of a series of facilities to hold back the waters (dams) have resulted in:

· major changes in aquatic and riverbank habitat;

· a major negative impact on fish habitat and the life cycle of certain species of fish (migration, especially of the yellow sturgeon); also there is no structure to promote the movement of fish;

· the constriction of artificial banks on the Beauharnois Canal: land vegetation in the natural state has essentially disappeared from the banks of the Canal;

· limited wetland areas and conditions that are not very conducive to nesting and the raising of young birds account for the reduced presence of wildfowl;

· reduced quality of life for riverside dwellers and the deterioration or loss of a number of primarily recreational uses.

Deterioration of water quality and sedimentation as a result of industrialization and urbanization in the sector, especially between 1950 and 1970;

Creation of artificial banks as a result of urban expansion and recreational use;

Industry uses eight known sites to dispose of hazardous waste and two of them could contaminate Lake St. Louis and six the aquatic environment of the sector as such;

There are few areas conducive to the accumulation of contaminated sediment over long periods; this type of contamination does not seem to be a problem except for the bed of the Saint Charles River;

Agricultural activity is major and represents a source of contamination of the tributary waters.

Reference: Regional Balance Sheet, Chapters 4 and 5

MAIN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSETS OR EFFORTS

Purification of industrial and municipal water:

· SLV 2000 has identified four industries as priority areas; they are located upstream from the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield conurbation;

· in 1998, approximately 84% of the population is served by one waste-water purification plant;

· contamination of the aquatic environment by industrial and municipal effluent has clearly declined in recent years;

· bacterial content of the water is fairly good; conventional water quality measurements do not show values requiring concern.

Conservation of natural environments:

· a few areas are protected: the hackberry ecological reserve on Bienville and Arthur islands in the Coteau Archipelago (1981) with an area of 29 hectares is intended to ensure the conservation of a complete pure population of common hackberry, a species that could be in a precarious situation in Quebec, and Pointe-du-Buisson (Pointe-du-Buisson archeological park);

· wildlife developments have been carried out by Ducks Unlimited on the sides of the Beauharnois Canal and agricultural practices have been adjusted to promote feeding and to create rest areas for wildfowl;

· the attainment of legal status for the no-hunting area in the upstream part of the Beauharnois Canal and the adjoining basins (4,200 ha.). As a result, migrating wildfowl have a place to stop where they are safe from hunters.

Accessibility of the River and its banks:

· consultation among the stakeholders with a view to creating a new access sites for recreational and tourism purposes (e.g. Beauharnois Canal regional park and project to reopen the Soulanges Canal);

· improved water-basin management to meet the needs of riverside dwellers and to promote better use of the environment.

Reference: Regional Balance Sheet, Chapters 4 and 5

ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES

· To continue efforts to harmonize management methods in facilities to control water levels with the needs of aquatic and semi-aquatic wildlife and to preserve their habitats as well as with the expectations of people living beside the River in terms of their quality of life and use of the River;

· To continue industrial and municipal clean-up programs already under way (including restoration of hazardous waste disposal sites);

· To promote the development of wetlands (water meadows, marshes, water-plant beds);

· To upgrade nesting conditions for wildfowl in agricultural situations;

· To control urban sprawl (including the conversion of recreation areas into urban developments);

· To continue efforts to improve access to the River and its banks.

Reference: Regional Balance Sheet, Chapter 6

OCTOBER 1998