Verdun beach project delayed as officials test water quality, wait for fish to spawn

Swimmers still can't use the public beach originally slated to open in 2017 as part of Montreal's 375th anniversary celebration because of water quality concerns.

Freshly landscaped area near beach to open in coming weeks, but no swimming allowed yet

Isaac Olson CBC News Posted: Jun 20, 2018 1:36 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 20, 2018

Fences still surround the planned urban beach in Montreal's Verdun borough as there is still work to be done, including levelling the steep riverbed to make it safe for swimmers. (Navneet Pall/CBC)

Montreal's Verdun borough was supposed to open a sandy beach last summer, marking Montreal's 375th birthday with public swimming in the St. Lawrence River, but a year later, the project has yet to materialize.

"The beach is coming," Coun. Marie-Andre Mauger told CBC Montreal's Daybreak Wednesday. "The swimming area won't be open this summer because we are water quality testing for the Montreal public health agency."

Mauger says swimming should be allowed by the city's 377th birthday.

In the interim, crews are finishing up work around the swimming area, and anew, grass-lined section should open in the coming weeks, although officials hesitate to predict an exact date as bad weather can delay landscaping.

The beachwill beinArthur-TherrienPark, just offGatan-LabergeBoulevard nearHicksonStreet.

Verdun constructed a stone structure near the planned public beach to slow the current for swimmers, but swimming won't be allowed until at least next year. (Navneet Pall/CBC )

Transforming abandoned shoreline

tienneBrunet, chief of staff in the Verdun borough, says the areachosen for the project had long beenabandoned, partially paved and littered with large concrete blocks.

Now the shoreline is accessible to people in wheelchairs, with paths woven through a grassy, landscaped space where visitors can relax and gazeat the water, he said.

There are even slides integrated into the slopedown to the river. However,it will be some time before sand is shipped in for the beach and people can swim.

The final stages of work will get underway this fall if everything goes as planned,Brunetsaid.

Montreal's public health agency will be checking the water quality throughout the summer, he said.

As well, Quebec's Ministry of Environment has to give the green light to levelthe steepriver bed to make it safer for swimming.

That excavation work can't start until mid-August, after fish have spawned.
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Uncharted waters

The Verdun beach was originally slated to cost about $4 million, butthe price tag will likely becloser to $5 million by the time the beachopensbecause of all the unforeseen steps,Maugersaid.

Shesaid Verdun officials hadn't expected to have to wait for all those approvals, but the borough has been treading into uncharted waters since the start of the project.

"Right now we are paving the way for other projects," she said. "Wedidn'tknow how much of a challenge it would be."

There are some public beaches onthe outskirts of the citybut none so close to downtown, she said, largely because the risk of sewage overflow hasalways been a show-stopping concern.

The area surrounding the planned sandy beach will have a park, wooded areas, slides in the hillside, a bike path and other recreational activities. (WAA Montral)

Monitoring sewage outflows

The presence of sewage has been the setback for a public beach inPointe-aux-Trembles, as well. That beachwas supposed to open in 2016,Maugersaid, but now it's delayed indefinitely as the city works to mitigate the issue.

When it comes to sewage overflow,Maugersaid the city has a monitoring system in place across the island, and officials know when it is going to happen.

The beach site has been monitored for a number of years, she explained, and officials predict there could be sewage overflows as often asthree times a year near the swimming area after heavy rains.
Verdun beach finds a new home behind Verdun Auditorium

The city is slowly redoing underground infrastructure, separating raw sewage from runoff drainsto fix the issue, she said. Until then, monitoring overflow will give officials advanced warning of any risks.

Environmental roadblocks

Fish-spawningis only one of theenvironmental issues that's led to work beingpostponed.

"There were other periods where we couldn't do the landscaping because it wasthe bird-nesting period," saidMauger. "Then we had to respect other periods for the grass snakes."

"So, we're doing this really with respect to nature and the environment."

Despite the delays, Maugerremains positive about the project. She described itas part of the borough's "vision to give better access to the shore and better access to the river."

The proposed beach has been an issue of contention with some residents who worry about noise and other issues, but the city is pushing ahead with a plan that will give citizens more access to the river's shore. (WAA Montral)

With files from CBC Montreal's Daybreak

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