A number of citizens have told me that the current location of the soccer field (where the goals are poorly placed!) and skating rink in winter was once a municipal landfill site. This would have prompted a move from the refrigerated skating rink in Parc des Rivières to the tennis courts at Pleasant View Beach. In fact, the municipality had planned to build the refrigerated rink at Parc des Rivières. This is no longer the case. Why not?
According to my conversations with people in the field, to install a refrigerated rink with a roof, the land has to be excavated. Ideally, you first have to make sure that the land is not contaminated.
To achieve this, we carry out environmental phases known as Phase I and, if necessary, Phase II, which in part consists of digging “cores” into the soil to check for contamination. Phase III involves soil decontamination. This is what the municipality of North Hatley has done, using experts. The report is no doubt available at the town hall.
We are proceeding with the following phases, and possibly the third, as follows:
Phase I: Study to determine whether there is a risk of contamination. If so, we proceed to Phase II.
Phase II: Confirm or refute the hypothesis that the soil is possibly contaminated by drilling into the ground and conducting laboratory analyses.
Phase III: Determine the limit of contamination and the risks to human health, and correct the situation.
The question that’s been burning in my mind is how could anyone have thought of building a refrigerated skating rink in Parc des Rivières when they “most likely” knew that it was a former municipal landfill that had no doubt contaminated the land. In my case, I only spoke for a few minutes with a few old wolves from North Hatley and they all knew about the dump and even the contamination. Well, these are just citizen “yes” statements, after all!
On the other hand, we may know “publicly” that the land at Parc des Rivières is contaminated, what are the municipality’s intentions? Do we have a decontamination plan? Moving the refrigerated rink is one thing, but the health of our ecosystem is a priority!
Of course, the Municipality of North Hatley is aware that Parc des Rivières was formerly a municipal landfill site, since it states in its press release on the master plan.
In fact, our mayor Marcella Guerrish has the environment at heart, as she states in her press release on the future master plan:
“We envision a village heart that revitalizes the entire area, with environmentally enhanced ‘green’ spaces”.
By the way, small URL error on the municipality’s website, notice they use “navigo” in the URL of the master plan 🙂
Of course, North Hatley’s municipal landfill was built a long time ago. But why aren’t we decontaminating a piece of land on the lakefront known as Parc des Rivières? If you have more information on the subject, please let me know.
For the time being, it looks as if the possible contamination of Parc des Rivières is being swept under the carpet and that we’re moving on quickly. Probably just an impression! As they say, what we don’t know doesn’t hurt us, and what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. On the other hand, when you do know, it’s tiring.
Be sure to check your sources, because it may just be a legend that Parc des Rivières is contaminated.
On that note, don’t forget to respect the shoreline!
I asked Chatgpt if it’s true that North Hatley River Park was once a municipal landfill. Here’s his answer:
Yes, it’s true: the River Park site in North Hatley was once used as a municipal dump. According to municipal documents, this area, located right in the heart of the village – from the old Baptist church to the public market, by way of the banks of the Massawippi River – was used as a “town dump” at one time hv.agora.qc.ca+9northhatley.org+9sherbrookerecord.com+9.
Today, the area is undergoing a major transformation: abandoned lots, impervious surfaces and degraded infrastructure are gradually being replaced by more aesthetic and ecological spaces, as part of a large-scale project focused on the harmonious development of downtown and the riverbanks .
So, yes: this park was indeed the former site of a landfill, but those days are gone, and the area is now being upgraded into a park with playground in summer, skating rink in winter, public market, and plans for a redesigned community center.
