Quebec City residents, who are affected by drinking water consumption restrictions, have reduced their consumption by 20% over the past two days. This has allowed the city to avoid experiencing episodes of cloudy water since work began on a broken water main, Bruno Marchand said.
• Read also: Claude Villeneuve regrets “confusion” around murky water in 12 sectors of Quebec
• Read also: Quebec City: restrictions on the use of drinking water
This is what the mayor of Quebec made known, Thursday in the middle of the afternoon, in an impromptu press release. That said, the exact origin of the break in the important pipe in the Rivières district has still not been identified.
“We found certain elements of the answer. We continue to work to investigate to confirm. The work continues. We cannot say more about the causes,” he argued.
Restrictions maintained
Meanwhile, restrictions and recommendations issued earlier this week for 35% (175,000 people) of the population remain in effect. Until the end of the work, still scheduled for July 5, we ask citizens in the 12 affected sectors to limit domestic uses of water (such as dishwashers). They are also required to have a sufficient supply of drinking water for their food consumption.
“That’s 20% water saved (since the work began on Wednesday). The citizens’ efforts are bearing fruit. It has an impact and has certainly allowed us to not have cloudy water for anyone and to continue to supply people with qualified water. So, we must continue,” insisted Bruno Marchand.
Political controversy
On the political front, the mayor of Quebec had little taste for the comments of the leader of the municipal opposition, Claude Villeneuve, who pointed out “confusion” and “contradictions” between the messages of the Municipality and those of the Direction of the Public Health (DSP) regarding the potability of cloudy water.
“The opposition is playing politics with an exceptional situation, which we should never do by the way. Patrick Paquet (unelected leader of Équipe Priorité Québec) understood that and Quebec First does not seem to have understood,” deplored Mr. Marchand.
According to him, “in exceptional situations, we all agree that we put politics aside. He (Claude Villeneuve) decided not to do it. That’s what he always does. We’re not surprised. I think it’s not the right decision.”
The mayor declared that the City has been working hand in hand with the DSP since June 21 and that the two entities are saying “the same thing”.
Asked to react, Mr. Villeneuve, leader of Quebec First, maintained his entire statement. “On the mayor’s team’s side, there is poor communication and they are looking for those responsible rather than looking at their navels,” he denounced.
According to him, “every time the mayor or a member of his team misses his mark, it is the fault of the opposition which politicizes. We see here a misunderstanding of the work that we have as elected officials.”
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