Montebello taps province to end water problems
Montebello, Que., a town beset by a series of boil-water advisories in recent years, has finally replaced its aging water treatment plant with a new state-of-the-art facility.
"The [old] plant had a lot of problems. There were a lot of interruptions," Alexandre Icarà, the MNA for Papineau, said in French.
The advisories became so commonplace the province decided to step in to help replace the plant, forking over roughly $2.5 million of the $3.8-million construction cost, Icarà said.
The municipality had been trying to convince the province of the need for a new plant since 2014, and a string of advisories in January finally prompted action.
"We were still in a crisis situation. It was a very precarious situation," said Montebello Mayor Martin Deschênes, also in French.
Businesses relieved
Residents weren't the only ones fed up with the advisories. Several local businesses also complained they were losing money.
"Our major client is Chateau Montebello, so a hotel of this stature cannot afford to run out of drinking water," Deschênes said.
During advisories the high-end hotel had to resort to distributing bottled water to guests.
Alain Larivière, president of local brewery Les Brasseurs de Montebello, said the new plant will help stabilize water quality for his business.
The brewery had to slow down production while the plant was being built, but now expects to resume normal operations.
"It's a lot less frustration for everyone," Larivière said in French.
