On November 20, the City of Sainte-Julie and the firm Genexco presented the results of a study on stormwater management to citizens affected by the flooding of August 9.
155 residents, the majority from the Du Moulin district, were flooded on August 9. A precipitation record was set in Sainte-Julie. In 24 hours, 156 millimeters of rain, or more than 6 inches of water, fell.
1989 requirements
After the events, the mayor, Mario Lemay, announced that he had commissioned the firm Genexco to produce a water study of the city’s infrastructure and validate the behavior of the rainwater network according to rainfall simulations with recurrences of two, five, ten and one hundred years. A contract awarded by mutual agreement, since the amount of the study amounts to $6,500, therefore below the threshold of $25,000 set for calls for tender.
According to the data explained to citizens, the network, as a whole, meets the required criteria. “There are no irregularities and everything is in compliance,” explains Stéphane Bélanger, project manager at Genexco. The analyzes are based on the 004 requirements of the Ministry of the Environment dating from 1989. The houses in the Du Moulin sector were largely built between 1976 and 1989.
Clay soil
The Du Moulin sector is, however, different from other districts of the municipality. “The straw that falls on the sector takes longer to find its outlet than for other sectors,” explains Mr. Bélanger. The length of the network is not part of the regulatory criteria. In addition, the composition of the soil, mainly clay, makes water infiltration difficult, specifies the analyst.
155 This is the number of flood reports received by the City in the context of the overflows of August 9, 2024.
Mr. Bélanger and his colleague, Marc-Antoine Cardinal, presented a series of possible anomalies that could explain the flooding among residents of the area, all of which are linked to the property and not to the water infrastructure of Sainte-Julie.
“The network complies with standards and reacted well during the rains of August 9. However, what concerns me the most is that our infrastructures are not designed to absorb such rain, whether in Sainte-Julie, but everywhere else in Quebec,” specifies the mayor.
Improve resilience
In a second phase of the study, Mario Lemay confirmed to citizens that the firm would look into solutions to improve the municipality’s resilience in the face of climate change. “Even if the City does regular maintenance of its network, in particular by cleaning the catch basins, it wants to do more,” specifies Mr. Lemay, who wants to see in the coming months what infrastructure could be improved.
Residents will receive the results of their visual inspection, in addition to an information sheet on the points to be analyzed, from a professional hired by the citizens. “This form, produced by the federal government, is a tool for disaster victims, but also for all citizens of Sainte-Julie. Even I am concerned about the situation and I am going to take steps to ensure that my house is compliant,” he describes in an interview with the newspaper.
After the explanations from the firm and the City, on November 20, citizens had several questions, in particular on the nature of the contract and on the City’s intervention on the evening of August 9. Remember that several citizens experienced similar flooding on August 4, 2023. At the time, nearly 75 cases, the majority of them targeted in the Du Moulin district, had been declared.
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