WATCH ABOVE: Raw footage of the possible water contamination in the wake of the Champlain Bridge and Turcot Interchange rebuild
MONTREAL – Plans to rebuild the Champlain Bridge and the Turcot Interchange has created a new headache for city officials.
The two projects threaten the integrity of the water that flows through the Aqueduct Canal through to the Atwater water treatment plant, according to a report by Le Devoir.
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The canal is one of the city’s major water intakes from the Saint-Lawrence River.
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It runs parallel to Highway 15 and brings water from above the Lachine Rapids down to Atwater, which is the source of 42 per cent of the city’s drinking water supply.
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With plans to reconstruct the highway just around the corner, officials said they’re concerned about contamination.
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The plan is is to build an 800 metre pipeline to take water to the treatment plant from further up the stream.
Chantal Rouleau, the Montreal city councillor in charge of water issues, say she doesn’t know who will be paying for the project, but Montreal is expecting both Ottawa and Quebec City to share the cost because of their involvement in both construction projects.
Rouleau won’t put a price tag on the work so as not to interfere with any future bidding, but says the final price tag will be in the tens of millions of dollars.
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