Proposed Rezoning of the Métis-sur-Mer Urbanism Plan, 2008.
In reference to the documentation we received in the mail April 14th, 2008, on the renewal of the latest version of the Métis-sur-Mer Urbanism Plan and Regulations, at least one section should be consulted and modified before any irreversible decisions be taken by the Metis Beach Town council on rezoning.
We understand a request has been submitted to the council to convert lots 83, 84, 86 and 86, identified as zone 7003 in the original Urbanism Plan, which includes the eastern half of Le club de Golf de la Pointe, into zone 1001, a residential area including unifamily dwellings, cottages, room & board houses and organized group habitations. Up to the present, this zone has survived, with a few minor irreparable damages, by using the existing water table to irrigate the golf course, excluding the greens, which are watered via connecting piping from the larger brook dam just southeast of the golf club, some 1500 feet distance.
However, changing zoning from 7003 to 1001, would allow unlimited residential development, putting the already low water-table (phreatic water level) at risk of disappearing in mid-summer until the autumn rains, if and when they come.
These observations are not some imaginary scenario we’ve cooked up. For the last 50 years, when most of the houses had electricity and running water delivered from private surface wells, water-pumps sucking air for hours were not uncommon in summer. Only when turned off for several hours did the water-table return, albeit very low. But let’s look a little deeper into why this happens.
1. This area, within the geomorphology complex known as the Mitis Terrace, sits between the Mi’hmaq Terrace and the intertidal shoreline. It was scraped down to the late Ordovician bedrock by the passing of the last ice age that ended some 18,000 years ago. Shortly afterwards, it was invaded by the Goldthwaite Sea, covering the area by over 100 metres of salt water. By the time the Goldthwaite Sea had receded a little over 2,000 years ago, the Mitis river had deposited a layer of tuf varying from a few centimetres to over a metre deep on this area, followed by 4 to 6 feet of soil.
2. The Leggatt’s Point “hamlet” is supplied with water by a small water-shed on the next farm to the east. As soon as the spring snow melt ends, the water-table, furnishing one small brook that dries up most summers, several underground sources draining into the bay, and all the present existing residences, begins falling. Often by mid-summer, the supply is such that a few careless excesses puts the available drinking water at risk, plus increasing the danger of salt water invasion.
3. Who would suffer the most if this rezoning project goes ahead? The first to experience dry taps would be the Leggatt’s Point Presbyterian manse, being the last on the line. M. Poirier has endured contaminated drinking water for years, while Victorine Dionne risks the same potential symptoms as the manse mentioned above. For many years, Reverend Pentinga experiences lengthy water shortages most summers. “Tall Trees” at 518 ch. Leggatt, already has salt water in a drilled well and now gets its water from the Killicrankie supply. The Bossé’s at 520 ch. Leggatt, have to monitor the water-table closely if they don’t want to run out of water in summer. Killiecrankie runs out of water most summers, etc., etc.
4. If addition residential dwelling are installed upstream of the present residences, those houses mentioned in the above examples and several others would invariably be out of water earlier and remain dry later than usual. A few hours out of water might be tolerable, but days, weeks, perhaps months?
5. Due to the numerous aquifers connecting the water-shed to the various residential wells, any contaminants allowed to access the water-table (phreatic water level) during the annual spring flood period would result in long-term to permanent contamination of the water-table.
6. The administration of waste water and sewage is the responsibility of our Town representatives. Current regulations specify that septic tanks be emptied every two years, but its application has been lax to none-existent. Just one serious septic-tank overflow upstream could contaminate the entire water-table and most if not all the present wells in operation.
7. A simple example. Some 15 years ago, a portion of the only brook furnishing water from our water-shed, was moved about 75 feet to the south, with the consequence that the surface well of an owner downstream of that modification was contaminated several years ago. Considerable money and time was spent trying to correct that water-course change the Town administrators allowed.
8. From the “Civil Code of Quebec”, we are advised in paragraph 981. A riparian owner may, for his needs, make use of a lake, the headwaters of a water-course or any other water course bordering or crossing his land. As the water leaves his land, he shall direct it, not substantially changed in quality or quantity, into its regular course. No riparian owner may, by his use of the water, prevent other riparian owners from exercising the same right.
9. Groundwater Catchment Regulation, R.Q. c. Q-2, r.1.3 governs groundwater catchment in order to prevent the catchment of that water by an owner or operator from causing abusive nuisance to its neighbours, in particular by lowering the phreatic water level or by reducing the artesian pressure, to prevent the drawing of water in excessive amounts considering its availability, and to minimize the negative impacts from the catchment on watercourses and bodies of water, on the persons entitled to use them and on the ecosystems associated with those watercourses and bodies of water.
10. At the short meeting we had with Mayor Tremblay and the municipal secretary at Tuesday at 9:30 A.M., April 15th, we were kindly advised in no uncertain terms that the council is not responsible for any water quality or quantity, although they are promoting exactly what would create the problem in the first place.
11. At least, the mayor sympathies with our looming potential problem. However, I fail to understand the logic in paragraph 5 of your pamphlet, which mentions paying particular attention in the Leggatt’s Point hamlet to protect areas of ecological and environmental importance, while the proposed zoning change would create potential ecological and environmental hardships that could last for decades, or longer.
12. We understand the council will hold a meeting of April 30th to consult with all the tax payers of Metis on the draft regulations, which they passed April 7rd. We further understood from a previous telephone call to the municipality, that persons wanting to input their opposition to this rezoning of 7003 at Leggatt’s Point have up to the 3rd May to do so.
It is unfortunate that the Metis Beach Council did not consult with the property owners at Leggatt’s Point at a much earlier period. We fail to understand how potentially irreversible decisions are made without adequate knowledge of their long-term consequences. Unlike urban aqueduct systems, as is installed in the center and east of Metis, we live in a zone with a very finite water source, which, if finely balanced between conscientious conservation, minimum water consumption and intelligent protection against contaminants, could supply us for years to come.
In consequence of the numerous above-mentioned reasons, we hereby object and protest against rezoning sector 7003 covering Le Club de Golf de la Pointe. In case of loss of or non-reception of this document via normal e-mail, a copy will be forwarded to you via Canada Post.
Your understanding and cooperation is requested before any further action in this matter is taken.
Sincerely yours,
Gilbert R. Bossé et Lise Deschênes,
520 ch. Leggatt,
Métis-sur-Mer,
QC.
- Schéma d’aménagement de territoire, proposition préliminaire, août 1985
- Schéma d’aménagement du territoire, version de consultation, août 1986
- Le développement économique de la qualité de la vie à Métis-sur- Mer, automne 1988.
- Plan et règrements d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, automne 1988.
- Projet Règlements d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, été 1989.
- Projet plan d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, été 1989.
- Projet Règlements d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, printemps 1990.
- Plan d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, printemps, 1990.
- Municipalité régionale de comté de la Mitis, inventaire du patrimoine régionale, mesures conservatoires et programme de sensibilisation, rapport final, mars 1990.
- Règlements d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, (sans date)
- Urbanism By-laws, Municipality of Métis-sur-Mer (Not dated)
- Règlement d’urbanisme, Métis-sur-Mer, printemps 1992.
- Métis-sur-Mer, guide de conservation architecturale.
- Plan d’urbanisme # 9048-2008-B, les grandes affectations. Printemps 2008.
- LOI SUR LES CITÉS ET VILLES, L.R.Q., chapitre C-19,
- LOI SUR L'AMÉNAGEMENT ET L'URBANISME, L.R.Q., chapitre A-19.1
- Règlement sur la rénovation urbaine, R.Q. c. S-8, r.9
- Règlement sur le captage des eaux souterraines, R.Q. c. Q-2, r.1.3
- Loi sur la qualité de l'environnement, L.R.Q. c. Q-2
- Règlement sur l'évacuation et le traitement des eaux usées des résidences isolées, R.Q. c. Q-2, r.8
- The Charter of Rights and Freedoms -Le Charte des droits et libertés.
- Charte québécoise des droits et libertés de la personne.
- Code civil du Québec/Civil Code of Québec.
- Watercourses Act, R.S.Q. c. R-13 (updated February 15, 2008)
- Groundwater Catchment Regulation, R.Q. c. Q-2, r.1.3 14 (revised March 2008)
- Solid waste, Regulation respecting, R.Q. c. Q-2, r.3.2 (revised 14 March, 2008).
- Environment Quality Act, R.S.Q. c. Q-2 (revised 14 March, 2008).
- Water Resources Preservation Act, R.S.Q. c. P-18.1 (revised 15 February 2008.)
- Waste water disposal systems for isolated dwellings, Regulation respecting, R.Q. c. Q-2, r.8 (revised 14 March 2008).
- Land use planning and development, An Act respecting, R.S.Q. c. A-19.1
- Géologie du Sud de Québec, du Bas Saint-Laurent et de la Gaspé.
- État des connaissances sur le niveau marin relatif et le relèvement des terres à l’holocènes, Estuaire du Saint-Laurent, Québec, Dionne, Jean-Claude.
- Géologie et géomorphologie quaternaire, secteur du lac Matapedia et de la rivière Mitis, Luc Desmarais, c1988.
- Les « Pétroglyphes » de l’Anse du Petit Mitis, Jean-Marie M. Dubois, 1981.
- Les mouvements glaciaires dans le secteur Mont-Joli/ La Matapedia¨la limite marine régionale : (UQAR)
- L’apport de la géomorphologie à l’archéologie des périodes paléo indienne et archaïque dans l’est du Québec, une geoarchéologie à réinventer, Recherches amérindiennes au Québec, vol. XXXII.
- L’influence du contexte géomorphologique quaternaire sur le dynamique des versant raides de la Gaspésie septentrional. Thèse de Doctorat, département de géographie, Université de Montréal.
- La morphologie littorale de la côte sud de l’estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent, Rivière-du-Loup à Matane, Dionne, Jean-Claude.
- Les étapes de la déglaciation dans la nord de la Gaspé (Québec) : les marges glaciaires des dryas ancien et récent. Bernard Hétu et James T. Gray, Géographie physique et Quaternaire, ISSN 0705-7199, Volume 54, numéro 1 (2000).
- Géologie glaciaire et géochronologie postglaciaire dans la région limitrophe de la Gaspésie et du Bas Saint-Laurent, Bichonnet, Gilbert.
- Postglacial climate in the St. Lawrence lowlands, southern Quebec, pollen and lake-level evidence. Muller, Serge D.; Richard, Pierre J.H.; Guiot, Joël; de Beauleiu, Jacques-Louis; Fortin, David.
- Le couvert végétal au Québec – Labrador et son histoire postglaciaire, Richard, Pierre J. H., 1987.
- Lithologie des cailloux de la baie de Mitis, Rive sud de l’estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent (Québec) : un exemple de transport glaciaire et glaciel complexe. Dionne Jean-Claude, 1997.
- Notions de géologie au Québec. Landry, Brune et Mercier, Michel. 1984.
- Etude de l’impact potentiel des changements climatiques sur les ressources en eau souterraine dans l’Est du Canada, Rivard, C; Manon, J; Michaud, Y; Benhammane, S; Morin, A; Lefebvre, R; Rivera, A. A .Geological Survey of Canada, open file 1577. 2003; 160 pages.
- Guide d’évaluation de la vulnérabilité des eaux souterrainnes à la pollution : Rapport présenté aux Ministère de l’environnement du Québec, Service des pesticudes et des eaux souterraines, Murat. V; Martel, R. Michaud, Y; Therrien, R. (ed. prelim.) 2000 : 44 (+ann.) pages (ESS Cont. # 20070238.
- Protection des aquifères: vulnérabilité et périmètres de protection autour des puits. MARTEL, R., PARADIS, D., MURAT, V., MICHAUD, Y., THERRIEN, R., LEFEBVRE, R., FAGNAN, N. et BOISVERT, É. 1999: Sommaire exécutif de la 3e conférence biennale, Américana 1999, 24-26 mars 1999, Montréal, p. 375- 376
- Landforms in the Laurentians of southern Québec: implications for the deglaciation history of the Laurentide Ice Sheet; BOLDUC A. M. 1995: CANQUA; Juin 1995
- Protection et conservation de l'eau souterraine et réglementation. Note de cours sur "La protection de l'eau souterraine? Source d'eau potable!", Tome 2, MARTEL, R et BOURQUE, É. 1997: INRS-Géoressources, Québec, 127 p. 1996: Commentaires sur le projet de politique de protection et de conservation des eaux souterraines. Rapport à l'intention du ministère de l'Environnement et de la Faune du Québec, Septembre 1996, 3 p.
