The thirty-five or so attendees at the most recent town council meeting in North Hatley, held on August 6, were treated to the spectacle of council members, the mayor, and the town manager attempting to defend a resolution on access to the public beach (or ‘park’, as it now seems to be called – any reference to the presence of a body of water, even implicit, appears to have been banned), a resolution they seemed not to have fully understood or to have thoroughly thought through, despite all council members voting in favour of it.

The resolution makes it necessary to obtain an electronic card to have access to Pleasant View Park – to the lawn, to the beach, to the docks, but NOT to the water, since swimming will continue to be banned. The question can certainly be asked what problem this new, complicated system is intended to solve, since access to the water will not be permitted.

Council, of course, well knows that people will swim, but it seems to hope to be able to pretend it doesn’t expect that to happen – and thereby protect itself from liability, should something untoward happen. There, in a nutshell, lies the purpose behind this whole charade – a charade that, surely, will carry very little weight with a judge, unless, of course, the municipality strictly enforces its prohibition on swimming. But this would seem unlikely to happen, since media reports about the police arresting senior citizens and young children for entering the water are probably not the sort of publicity for North Hatley that council members are hoping for.

To obtain an electronic card, the resolution that was passed stipulates that ‘citizens’ (this is what it calls users) will need to sign a waiver letter – though, as it turns out, the exact content of this letter is still unknown. And who will be able to obtain a card by putting down a deposit? That too remains to be determined, and on this topic there were conflicting and contradictory assertions by the mayor and the town manager. These are all signs the Town is acting without having given due consideration to the implications of the resolution it has drafted and adopted.

To justify this ‘policy’, councilwoman Farrugia read at length from government regulations, in an attempt to defend the position that swimming at an accessible beach in Québec can only be allowed during the time there is supervision. It did not seem to matter, however, that lawmakers in Québec do not require fences around public beaches, that these are accessible twenty-four hours a day, or that, in fact, lawmakers in Québec accept – implicitly, at the very least – that swimming will take place outside hours of when the beach is supervised.

Another councilwoman – Elizabeth Fee – noted that this resolution was merely a first step, and that further refinements would be introduced at a later date. This is perhaps a positive step, if it is followed up on, and one can hope that an intelligent and reasonable solution to access to the public beach can still be found. Proposals by members of the audience were made for binding arbitration to take place involving a mutually-agreed-upon body (the Académie de sauvetage du Québec, for instance) or person (a respected lawyer in the field of civil liability, for example). The cost of such arbitration, like the electronic-card system itself, could be covered by donations. As for the source of these donations, in the case of the electronic-card system, no information was provided at the meeting, the mayor merely affirming that the money had been promised and, in part, collected. Surely it would be of interest for taxpayers in North Hatley to know who is funding this measure the Council is imposing upon us.

But the proposals for arbitration seem to have fallen on deaf ears. As did the request for an accounting of the cost to taxpayers of running the beach this summer, even with severely reduced services. And as have the repeated requests that Council actually consult those who elected it. The mayor’s reaction was to once again compare us – residents and non-residents – to children, this time to children who have lost the key to a mailbox and shouldn’t be allowed access to it anymore. 

If ‘all’s well that ends well’, all is not well in North Hatley.

Paul St-Pierre

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Bleu Massawippi a besoin d’aide immédiatement! 

Bleu Massawippi, anciennement l’Association pour la protection du lac Massawippi, votre chien de garde sur le lac, célèbre cet été son cinquantième anniversaire. Dans la foulée de sa réflexion sur ses réalisations passées, Bleu Massawippi pourrait bien faire face à son plus grand défi à ce jour, la désormais très possible implantation des moules zébrées au lac Massawippi. 

Nous devons agir rapidement et habilement et nous devons surtout nous préparer à maintenir nos efforts à long terme. Nous ne pouvons combattre seul cette menace. 

L’apparition de moules zébrées dans le lac Memphrémagog a été confirmée la semaine dernière. Sans une réaction rapide et concrète, le lac Massawippi pourrait bien être la prochaine victime. 

Qu’est-ce qu’une moule zébrée? 

La moule zébrée est une espèce allochtone envahissante qui se multiplie très rapidement. Une seule moule peut produire jusqu’à un million d’oeufs en une saison. Elles ont des filaments, semblables à des cheveux, qui leur permettent de s’accrocher aux surfaces dures, aussi diversifiées que les quais, les moteurs, les coques de bateaux, les infrastructures urbaines et les moules indigènes. Dans certains lacs, on compte jusqu’à 10,000 moules zébrées au mètre carré, ce qui en soi est un problème, mais au surplus la menace est très préoccupante pour les poissons. 

Chaque moule peut filtrer 1 litre d’eau par jour, privant ainsi les populations indigènes du plancton essentiel à leur survie. 

Bien que les scientifiques constatent que l’eau est beaucoup plus limpide en présence de moules zébrées, ce qui, à première vue, est positif, l’impact négatif est colossal, en ce que la pénétration de la lumière permettra aux plantes aquatiques de se développer plus intensément et plus profondément. Enfin, le lac Massawippi avec son taux de calcium élevé, est vulnérable, plus que tous les autres en région, à une invasion rapide. 

Que fait Bleu Massawippi? 

Depuis maintenant 50 ans, Bleu Massawippi mesure, publie et agit. Nos démarches ont été fondamentales pour améliorer la qualité de l’eau du lac. Il y a 50 ans, la plupart des égouts privés et publics étaient déversés directement au lac ou dans l’un de ses tributaires. Nos interventions, alliées à l’évolution de la politique municipale, ont grandement contribué à l’implantation d’usines de traitement des égouts et à l’application stricte de la règlementation sur les fosses septiques. Nos efforts sur les rives ont permis l’implantation d’une bande végétale filtrante dans le bassin versant immédiat et notre travail constant auprès des producteurs agricoles a déjà fait ses preuves; cette collaboration bien établie avec le monde agricole nous permet de croire que les résultats seront de plus en plus probants à moyen terme. 

Forts de notre expérience, nous devons continuer notre travail alors que s’amorce un combat difficile contre la moule zébrée. 

Le projet nautisme Intelligent, financé en partie par le gouvernement fédéral, nous permet depuis 2 ans de compter sur des ressources et une équipe scientifique compétente et solide. Nos employés peuvent dès à présent entreprendre certaines démarches de recherches et de prévention. Nos premières explorations, très partielles, ne rapportent aucun constat de moules zébrées. Les stations de lavage, instaurées depuis plus de dix ans dans nos municipalités, auront peut-être joué leur rôle pour au moins retarder l’infestation, nous le saurons d’ici quelques mois. à

Ces stations, cependant, ne sont pas ouvertes pendant toute la saison. Nous croyons qu’aucun bateau ne devrait avoir accès au lac sans passer au lavage rigoureux et ce, pendant toute la saison. Nous multiplions les démarches auprès des 5 municipalités riveraines et de la MRC de Memphrémagog pour que tous les accès non surveillés soient fermés immédiatement. 

Nous savons pour l’avoir vérifié que plus de 50% des bateaux actifs sur le lac viennent de l’extérieur, que plus de 10% d’entre eux (environ 500) viennent directement du lac Memphrémagog et qu’ils sont donc à haut risque de transmission de la moule zébrée. Ces bateaux peuvent souvent naviguer sur notre lac sans que des services locaux de lavage ne leur soient offerts. 

Il faut embaucher des responsables au lavage, sérieusement formés, afin de contrôler l’accès des bateaux de la fin d’avril à la fin d’octobre. Le lavage doit se faire à 40C plutôt qu’à l’eau froide et s’étendre à tous les accessoires. Nous devons également maintenir nos patrouilles sur le lac en été pour assurer une surveillance adéquate de la situation et maintenir une sensibilisation active auprès des plaisanciers afin de les responsabiliser collectivement. 

Que pouvez-vous faire? 

Parlez-en. Sensibilisez vos amis, vos voisins, impliquez-vous. 

Nous avons besoin d’un fonds d’urgence de 20,000$ immédiatement. Nous souhaitons de plus générer un fonds de 500,000$ via la Fondation C. Wayne Hall et par l’intermédiaire de la Fondation Massawippi, en faveur de Bleu Massawippi, pour toutes les questions relatives à la moule zébrée. L’investissement est grand mais la menace est pire encore. Notre lac, une fois affecté, pourrait changer dramatiquement et la restauration, si une restauration était possible, coûterait cent fois plus et deviendrait vite hors de portée. L’enjeu véritable est très sérieux. 

Joignez-vous à nous le 11 août pour nos célébrations du cinquantième anniversaire. Participez à la traversée historique du lac, à rame ou à moteur, pour accompagner la célèbre Mylène Paquette qui sera avec nous à cette occasion. Elle a traversé seule l’Atlantique à coup de rames, venez l’accueillir et venez nous supporter. 

Veuillez envoyer vos dons, petits ou gros, à Bleu Massawippi, CP 2703, North Hatley, QC, J0B 2C0 ou en ligne à www.lacmassawippi.ca 

Ensemble nous pouvons sauver le lac ! 

Thomas Pick, Vice-Président, Bleu Massawippi 

Blue Massawippi needs your immediate help!

Blue Massawippi, formerly The Massawippi Water Protection Society and your “go to” watch dog on the Lake, is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this summer and, in the midst of reflecting on its achievements, faces what may be its greatest challenge to date, the prospective invasion of Zebra Mussels.

We must act quickly and definitively, and we must be prepared to sustain our efforts in perpetuity. We cannot do this alone.

We just found out last week that these dangerous mussels have invaded Lake Memphremagog. Massawippi could, if we fail to act, be next.

What are Zebra Mussels?

Zebra mussels are an aquatic invasive species that multiply rapidly. One mussel can produce up to 1 million eggs in one spawning season. They have hair-like filaments which they use to attach themselves to hard surfaces like docs, pipes, boats, and other mussels. While this is a problem in and of itself, as population densities can reach up to 10,000 mussels per square meter, the main environmental risk would be to the fish population in the lake.

Each mussel can filter up to one liter of water per day in order to digest plankton, the same source of food eaten by fish. 

While scientists believe that the improved water clarity that is a by-product of this filtration might be a short term “plus”, the serious negative is that more sunlight reaches rooted plants, allowing for more plant growth. And in Lake Massawippi,  with its high PH level, the threat of a high rate of propagation is very serious.

What is Blue Massawippi doing?

Just as it has for fifty years, Blue is monitoring, reporting and acting. Our actions have played a key role in improving water quality in the lake, going from raw sewage being dumped into the Tomifobia and Massawippi Rivers, to the development of sewage treatment plants at both ends of the lake, with strict enforcement of lakeside septic systems. Our efforts along the shores of the lake have established vitally important filtration from pollutants, and our ongoing work with the farming community promises to reduce contaminants coming into the lake.

That work continues as we address the zebra mussel threat. Courtesy of the resources that we have obtained from the federal government in our Intelligent Boating program, we have divers active in the lake to observe if the mussels have invaded. To date, the answer is “no,” thanks in good part to the successful public-private boat washing and certification program. There are two boat washing facilities on either end of our lake, but they are only open from June to September. They need to be staffed in the spring and fall, and we ARE lobbying VERY HARD the five municipalities around the lake to ensure that ALL non-monitored boat access points are shut down immediately.

We know for a fact that more than 50% of the boat traffic on the lake is from boats that reside on other lakes, and 10%, or 500 boats, directly from Lake Memphremagog that has Zebra Mussels. Boats from there and other lakes can and do use our lake, without having local staff wash their boats to ensure mussels are not present. We need to hire people to cover off on this washing in the shoulder seasons, from late April through October, and we need to be on the lake throughout the summer to defend our waters. And we want the boats to be washed at 40C, not with cold water.

What can you do?

Tell your friends and neighbours, and get involved.

We need to raise $20,000 immediately, and we must generate $500,000 for the C. Wayne Hall Endowment for Blue Massawippi, held by the Massawippi Foundation, to sustain these efforts. The price is not small, but the alternative is horrific. Our lake could die, and restoring it could cost many millions of dollars. The stakes are immense.

Join us also at our 50th Anniversary Celebration on August 11, as you motor, paddle, or row to Ayer’s Cliff with Mylene Paquette, who will be joining us. She has rowed across the Atlantic single handed… support her and support us.

Please send any donations, large or small, to Blue Massawippi, P.O.B. 2703, North Hatley, QC, J0B 2C0, and check us out online at www.lacmassawippi.ca

Together, we can save our lake!

Thomas Pick, Vice-President, Blue Massawippi