According to information from environmental organizations, we know that it extracts more than 75,000 liters from the community’s soil every day.
That’s all there is to know, deputy mayor Christiane Forcier regrets.
“We are receiving concerned messages from citizens about the volumes of water being withdrawn from the facility. »
— A quote from Christiane Forcier, deputy mayor of Saint-Élie-de-Caxton
We don’t know how much water is locked up in our soil, she explains. In times of drought, the levels drop and things can get critical.
A neighbor of the factory even had to deepen his well because he could no longer extract the valuable raw material. However, it is impossible to determine whether the factory’s activities are in question.
This is not supposed to be the case, since according to current legislation, the Québec Ministry of the Environment monitors the grain.
While companies that withdraw more than 75,000 liters per day are required to submit a withdrawal summary to the ministry, this data is not publicly available as it is a trade secret.
We demand transparency to know what impact this is having on our territory, argues Councilor Roseline St-Onge. Especially since the community doesn’t have the resources to conduct hydrogeological studies, she argues.
The Saint-Élie-de-Caxton bottling plant in Mauricie
Photo: Radio Canada / Vincent Rességuier
Transparency at the heart of the bill
There should be transparency in the bill. Prime Minister François Legault made this commitment during COP15 in Montreal last December.
The volume of water withdrawn annually in Québec by bottlers and industries should therefore be published.
It would be a victory for the Quebec Center for Environmental Law (CQDE) and for the organization Eau Secours, which brought the case to court.
Last May, the Quebec court sided with the bottlers, who fought to keep this information confidential. But this time it should be different.
“I doubt the bottled water lobby can force the government to back down this time. »
— A quote from Marc Bishai, Attorney
There is pressure from the population, stresses lawyer Marc Bishai from the CQDE. At the Center’s initiative, four RCMs and about sixty municipalities have issued statements calling on the government to be more transparent.
The Director-General of Eau Secours, Rébecca Pétrin, also calls for transparency with regard to all documentation surrounding fishing authorisations, such as annual monitoring and hydrogeology reports.
Rébecca Pétrin, Managing Director of Eau Secours
Photo: Radio Canada / Vincent Rességuier
Ridiculous royalties
In Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, Councilor Roseline St-Onge hopes the government will also keep its promise to increase license fees.
A matter of fairness, she said. For example, for the sandboxes, which pay royalties based on the amount of sand extracted each year.
This money, paid directly to the municipality, is used in particular to fund the maintenance of roads damaged by heavy trucks. It should be the same with water, she concludes.
Quebec rates have not been revised for over 10 years. Water bottlers pay $0.070 per cubic meter (1000 liters).
Factories that use water in their production process pay $0.0025 per cubic meter. This is the case with the pulp and paper industry and the mining industry.
In 2021, Quebec received less than $3 million for withdrawing 811 billion liters of water. This is unacceptable, as even François Legault admitted last December.
Prices are well below the standards practiced in Europe or even Ontario, where the base charge is $0.503 per cubic metre.
Maja Vodanovic, in charge of water at the City of Montreal Executive Committee
Photo: Radio Canada / Vincent Rességuier
combat waste
The government has not provided any information on planned future fees, but according to Rébecca Pétrin, the fee should be high enough to provide an incentive to reduce water consumption.
Maja Vodanovic is on the same wavelength. The person in charge of water on the City of Montreal’s Executive Committee confirms that some are exaggerating.
For about a decade, Montreal has mandated water meters for businesses, which gives a good idea of water usage.
With a touch of irony, Ms. Vodanovic interjects that paying the license fees is more economical than fixing the leaks. But with reasonable prices, she believes some need to wake up and fix the pipes.
A Blue Fund of 150 million per year
With the increase in royalties, Quebec plans to establish a Blue Fund that is expected to reach $150 million per year by the end of the mandate in 2026.
A good part of this money should flow back to the municipalities to finance water infrastructure projects.
Rébecca Pétrin believes the need is immense, particularly in southern Quebec where water shortages are more common due to global warming.
She envisions municipalities investing in sewage treatment plants or filter systems, for example, when the groundwater is exposed to industrial or agricultural pollution.
The funds should be used to secure the water supply, she argues.
“The citizen must be at the heart of the strategy. »
— A quote from Rébecca Pétrin, Eau Secours
Maja Vodanovic doesn’t have to think twice to imagine how this money could be used.
In Montreal, $500 million is invested each year to maintain water infrastructure, which is in poor condition. To meet the requirements, she decides, it would have to invest $1 billion a year for 10 years.
She hopes the fund will offer elected officials predictability and stability, like the federal government’s gas tax.
In Saint-Élie-de-Caxton, two remote districts are not served by the municipality’s grid due to lack of funds. The incumbent mayor Christiane Forcier wants to remedy the situation.
For this report, we contacted the management of the Saint-Élie-de-Caxton bottling plant, who did not want to answer our questions publicly.