Local residents are unhappy about the arrival of an event wakesurf which will stop in particular at a lake whose water quality has deteriorated in recent years.
“It worries us,” says Jean Gagné, president of the Lac William association in Centre-du-Québec.
The Biggest Wave in Town tour, organized by Cabano Marine, stops at five bodies of water, including Grand Lac Saint-François, in Chaudière-Appalaches, (initially scheduled for this Saturday then postponed to July 20 due to rain) and Lac William, on July 6.
The latter is among the worst lakes in Quebec due to its accelerated aging. Since 2023, it has been classified as “eutrophic”. “It’s worrying,” insists Mr. Gagné.
The aim of the event is to test two new boats from wakesurf. “It’s to show new products to residents of the lakes,” explains the sales director at Cabano Marine, Simon Fortin. This is not a contest for the biggest wave.
“That reassures me to a certain point, but their advertising is misdirected; several local residents sent me comments to find out what this wave competition was about,” says Mr. Gagné.
The Biggest Wave in Town event stops this summer on five lakes in Quebec.
Screenshot taken from FACEBOOK
The event promotes a sport that can harm the state of the lake, he said.
As we wrote in our report on the health of lakes, studies by UQAM and Université Laval recommend that the wakesurf is practiced 300 meters from the banks and on a body of water whose depth is at least seven meters to avoid erosion of the banks and mixing of sediments.
According to the Bécancour zone watershed consultation group (GROBEC), there is only one environmentally friendly zone on Lake William, to the south, near Saint-Ferdinand.
Mr. Fortin confirms that this is indeed where they plan to sail.
But Mr. Gagné is also concerned that the number of boats exceeds the capacity of the body of water.
Questioned on social networks
Another association challenged the company on social networks.
“If the event does not take place, we will be happy… but otherwise, we ask that they respect all the rules of the art and the local residents,” summarizes the president of the Association for the Protection of the Great Lake Saint-François, Michel Fournier.
Cabano Marine assures that it follows the recommendations of the American association Wake Responsibly and that the group will avoid repeated passages in the same places and will ensure that the surf wave will be more than 200 feet (60 meters) from the banks in addition to navigate in areas of five to six meters minimum depth.
“We are pushing for our customers to be aware of the issues and for everyone to be satisfied,” insists Mr. Fortin.
He added that the event took place without any problems on Lake Etchemin and on the Saint-Maurice River.
Mr. Gagné will be on Lake William during the event to ensure that everything goes well. “We also asked for the presence of patrol officers to provide information,” he said.
