Are there enough permanent dikes in Quebec?

There is increasing demand for permanent dikes and other long-term solutions in flood-prone areas throughout Southern Quebec after yet another season of battling rising rivers, streams and lakes.

Île-Bizard and Pierrefonds-Roxboro have both had another wet spring, but this year the Montreal boroughs took early steps to prevent a major disaster — setting up temporary dikes to counter floodwaters from surging into riverside neighbourhoods.

And it worked.

"With the dikes, I can tell you that very few people have been affected," said borough mayor Normand Marinacci, who is calling for three permanent dikes to protect hundreds of homes in the area.

Pierrefonds-Roxboro mayor Dimitrios "Jim" Beis said permanent dikes may just be what the borough needs as well.

After the 2017 floods, the borough had natural dikes built to secure high-risk areas. But once again this year, Pierrefonds-Roxboro still needed additional, temporary structures to protect risk areas.

So far, work to build temporary dikes has cost Île-Bizard between $2 million and $3 million. In Pierrefonds-Roxboro, the cost is $2.5 million.

"We didn't wait for anyone to direct us in our borough," said Beis.

"We knew all of the areas that were vulnerable and we looked at where we would be able to erect natural dikes to protect specific areas that border communities of up to possibly 100 homes at a time." 

Beis said municipalities need financial help from the province "because we are not able, as a city, as a borough, to absorb the costs associated with the creation of natural dikes."

Marinacci also believes that the Legault government should contribute.

"The Quebec government has every interest in helping us because they pay the bill when people are flooded," he said.

"They've put millions and millions of dollars into paying for damages."

Temporary dikes have been used across the province this spring to protect neighbourhoods and individual homes.

As officials from affected areas anticipate increasingly frequent flooding due to climate change, the two borough mayors are not alone in the call for provincially funded, permanent solutions.

Residents join call for permanent solutions

Île-Bizard resident Nicole David-Strauss lives in a flood zone, but she was not affected by the flood this year thanks to a temporary dike.

Now she wants more than just a temporary structure. "We should find a permanent solution because we can't go through this all the time," she said.

Citizens of the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville are also asking for the construction of a permanent dike to protect their residences.

Joachim Le Garrec bought his home in the borough 10 years ago when the area was not considered a flood zone.

Still, the swollen Rivière des Prairies burst into his neighbourhood in the spring of 2017. This year, floodwaters were held back by a temporary, 250-metre dike.

Le Garrec says a new, permanent dike is needed to give him and his neighbours peace of mind.

Flood prevention planning underway

While municipalities are demanding funds to build dikes, the president of the Association of Professional Engineers of the Government of Quebec, Marc-André Martin, is asking the Legault government to review the Dam Safety Act to include dikes built in a municipal environment.

"This would assess the risks to the populations, determine design and inspection criteria," he explained.

"With climate change, we are currently sitting on a time bomb," Martin added.

Despite increasing dike requests, the provincial government says it's not the ultimate solution across the board.

Quebec Environment Minister Benoit Charette, who represents the Deux-Montagne riding, told reporters on Friday that each case is different and "it's vital that we evaluate the situation of each, individual reality."