Rosemère honoured for the management of water on its territory

Rosemère, May 25, 2017 – The Town of Rosemère was one of the region’s nine recipients of the title "Porteur de Flamb’EAU” (bearers of the "water” flame), at the first edition of the Flamb’EAU Gala held by the Conseil des bassins versants des Mille-Îles (COBAMIL- Mille-Îles River Basins Council) in Saint-Eustache on May 18. This gala sought to honour local and regional players committed to improving the quality of water in the Mille-Îles zone through the implementation and promotion of measures resulting from the COBAMIL’s 2015-2020 water master plan.

"For us at the Town of Rosemère, protecting the environment, in all of its forms, is a key decision-making factor. On the issue of water management alone, we constantly seek to improve our facilities and practices so as to remain at the forefront of progress in this area, to exceed government requirements, and to provide our residents with drinking water of superior quality. We also seek to make our residents and various other community players aware of the importance of making responsible use of this invaluable resource,” noted Madeleine Leduc, mayor of Rosemère.

Several of the Town’s initiatives attest to the efforts that have earned Rosemère the title of "Porteur de Flamb’EAU”: Drinking water of superior quality

The Town of Rosemère meets the high standards of the Water Treatment Excellence Program. To this end, it pursues and improves programs that call for monitoring the quality of water from the Mille-Îles River through a series of samplings and analyses. In addition to the monitoring required by the regulation on the quality of drinking water in Québec, the Town conducts weekly monitoring of bacteriological quality, at the water treatment plant’s intake located in the Mille-Îles River. The Town is also one of the government’s partners in the monthly "Réseau Rivières” (river network) sampling campaign.

Ongoing public awareness efforts to reduce the consumption of drinking water

To foster the residential consumption of drinking water, every year, the Town of Rosemère renews its program of financial assistance. This program encourages the replacement of existing regular-flow equipment with low-flow units by offering the owners of residential buildings a grant, in the form of a cash rebate. Subsidized equipment includes toilets, faucets and accessories with Watersence or HET/High Efficiency Toilet certification.

Adoption and promotion of practices for the sustainable management of rainwater

Among other noteworthy initiatives is the adoption of practices for the sustainable management of rainwater. For the benefit of its residents, the Town produced a guide on the efficient drainage of surface water on its territory. This awareness-raising tool is part of its master plan on storm sewers. To check the compliance of installations, a program of residential plumbing inspections, to be carried out over several years, has also been implemented.

Furthermore, as part of its efforts to raise public awareness of rainwater, every year, the Town renews its grant for the purchase of a rain barrel. A barrel collecting rainwater is a practical and ecological solution that limits run-off and reduces the amount of drinking water used for outdoor purposes.

The Town’s various water management initiatives are also related to the guidelines of its Environmental Policy that, in the field, translate into actions consistent with the local situation.