Mr Gleeson and his neighbors on Pierre-Bédard, Bossuet, Louis-Veuillot and De Cadillac streets in the Mercier-Ouest neighborhood of Montreal have been repeatedly plagued by flooding and sewer blockages.
During the heavy rains of September 13, Mr. Gleeson managed to weather the flood thanks to his pumps, which were able to prevent street water from entering his basement through the garage door, located at the base of a sloping entrance.
But the pumps and check valves didn’t stop the sewage from backing up in his kitchen sink.
“The neighbor next door had the backflow in his second floor bathtub. »
— A quote from Peter Gleeson, resident of Mercier-Ouest
Yes, there is surface water. But it’s mostly the sewers [qui n’a pas suffisamment] capacity, he said.
View of Rue Bossuet.
Photo: Radio Canada / Philippe-Antoine Saulnier
The rounding solution
The municipality of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve has developed an ecological solution to overcome the problems of the area’s residents, taking into account that this area is located in a natural depression formed by the bed of the old Molson stream.
Since it was impossible to enlarge the sewers because it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, here we are developing a project, a new know-how, Mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais said when showing the site.
Drainage troughs, which are in fact pits planted with trees and shrubs, are built along the roads and connected by an independent conduit.
This pipeline will direct water to Pierre Bédard Park to reduce the risk of flooding in the region and increase the city’s water retention capacity during heavy rains, explains the mayor.
Parc Pierre-Bédard will be transformed into a retention basin, part of which can be temporarily flooded. According to the district, the aim is for these systems to be able to absorb a water volume of at least 4,000 cubic meters.
“This is a new strategy we have in the city of Montreal to deal with these heavy rains that will become more frequent with the climate crisis. »
— A quote from Pierre Lessard-Blais, mayor of the municipality of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
The Lessard-Blais administration also intends to multiply these types of so-called resilient facilities in the district.
The climate plan released on Monday stipulates that all road and park rehabilitation work will systematically incorporate sustainable developments, for example by adding drainage ledges, creating new planting pits, planting filter plant species, etc.
citizens divided
Not all residents of the sector are convinced that the ecological solution proposed by the municipality will solve their problems with flooding and sewer backwater.
I can’t wait, it will allow me to go a little further and renovate my basement as it was, says a resident who wishes to remain anonymous. We don’t rebuild anything because we are afraid of flooding again until the project in the park is finished.
However, other citizens are unhappy with the removal of about sixty parking spaces on two of the target streets, to which Mayor Lessard-Blais replies that Cadillac tube station is a few minutes’ walk away.
Peter Gleeson got the sewage system plan for his neighborhood.
Photo: Radio Canada / Philippe-Antoine Saulnier
For his part, Peter Gleeson wonders if this greening project will solve the problem of backlogs that are more likely to be caused by insufficient sewer system capacity.
He obtained from the City of Montreal a map of the pipeline, which is located under Rosemont Boulevard and to which the entire borough’s sewage flows. According to this map, the sewer bottlenecks just before it enters the Dickson Street collector, which drops from 48 inches in diameter to 42 inches. It’s a bit like the smoking gun here, he says. There is at least something that is “questionable”.
The Service de l’eau de la Ville de Montréal confirms that the final section of the Rosemont Boulevard pipe is in fact 42 inches in diameter. But according to the city, since its head is higher than that of the 48-inch pipes upstream, it has equivalent hydraulic capacity to the latter.
The Louis-Riel district councillor, meanwhile, said she was concerned about the safety of runoff water discharged into Pierre-Bédard Park during heavy rains.
The falling rain, the overflowing sewers, it will flow into the park and it will become, as has been explained, a mixture of sewage and rainwater, fears Alba Zuniga Ramos, in a park used by elderly and young families.
In the information sheet on the project, the municipality of Mercier-Hochelaga Maisonneuve states that the redesign of the Pierre Bédard Park and the surrounding streets will reduce the risk of flooding, but not that of the sewers.