Students and staff at an elementary school in Monteregie do not have access to drinking water, a problem that has persisted since… 2018.
“The timing is a little unreasonable. A few more years. There are children who have left. [pour le secondaire] and who have never known drinking water at school,” says Annabelle Trahan, chairwoman of the board of the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle school.
Parents ask a lot of questions about this, she adds.
Seven years ago, the well supplying the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle school was found to be non-compliant, due in part to the presence of coliforms.
Since then, drinking water stations and bottled water have been made available to students and school staff.
“They found effective management [au quotidien]but the fact remains that working with jugs of water is not ideal. Considering the intense heat that occurs at the beginning and end of the year, this is less obvious,” emphasizes M.to me Trahan.
Even if the situation is still not resolved, the School Service Center of Grand Señory (CSSDGS) assures that it has quickly taken steps towards a long-term solution.
New well 2018.
A “test well” was drilled in 2018. This was followed by several “mandatory steps”: analyses, tests, preparation of the necessary technical documentation and obtaining various environmental permits, says Helene Dumais, deputy director of the communications department.
During this period, other “major work” had to be carried out at this school, including replacing the sewer field. Therefore, everything had to be coordinated to avoid “conflict with the objects associated with the well,” Ms. Dumais explains.
In the fall of 2024, the service center finally received permission to connect the well to the school. This operation was completed almost a year later, in September last year.
A “compliance analysis” has been completed and the school service center is now awaiting “final approval” from the Ministry of Environment, which will eventually allow access to potable water to be restored.
“The water supply situation at St. Bernard School is an issue that is subject to a very strict regulatory framework, and the stages of which are longer and more complex than for a private home,” Ms. Dumais emphasizes in a written response.
The Linyeri Teachers' Association, the local union representing CSSDGS teachers, says the situation has persisted for so long that staff have now become accustomed to it.
“This makes things difficult for all the staff as they have to worry about transporting and setting up water bottles. […]but we are getting used to it,” says President Martin Prévost.
