By Trevor Greenway
Local Journalism Initiative

There isn’t a lot of poop floating around in the Gatineau River these days.
Of the 19 testing sites throughout the Hills, an overwhelming 17 show “excellent” or “good” water quality, with only two places showing fecal coliforms above the recommended levels.
“We have a beautiful river,” said Friends of the Gatineau River (FOG) president Stephen Ferguson. He and FOG volunteer, Gary Fehr, spent July 29 in a boat testing bacteria levels from Chelsea to Gracefield, which the organization does three times a year.
According to the results, there were only two spots – near the entrance of the La Pêche River and at the McClinton Creek – that were above the recommended levels of fecal coliforms.
Ferguson said that the bacteria levels are typically high at the entrance of the La Pêche River, likely because of animal feces flowing from La Pêche into the Gatineau.
“We’re not really sure where [the bacteria] comes from, but there is probably a beaver dam down there,” said Ferguson. “[The bacteria count] is always a little on the high side.”
Despite the two high bacteria spots, the rest of the Gatineau River is marked as “excellent” or “good” and well below the 200 coliforms per 100-millilitre standard.
To put the results into perspective, Paris spent $1.5 billion to clean up the Seine River for the recent Olympics so that athletes could compete in the historic waterway.
In spite of their efforts, bacterial testing showed nearly 1,000 coliforms per 100 millilitres, and several German competitors got sick after splashing into the water.
The two high bacteria spots in Hills are areas of concern, but they do not significantly impact the overall water quality of the Gatineau River, according to Ferguson.
“The federal standard is 200 [coliforms per 100 millilitres] for swimming, and in France, they were saying how 1,000 was safe enough, which is unbelievable,” said Ferguson. “I definitely wouldn’t swim in that kind of water.”
Gatineau best river to paddle

Chelsea Olympic paddler Sophia Jensen agrees.
The 24-year-old made her Olympic debut in Paris and sprinted through the Seine River in the C1 200m Sprint Canoe finals, finishing sixth overall. She told CBC News after her race that, while she is biased, the Gatineau River is the best place to go paddling.
“It’s where I grew up, and it’s beautiful,” she said in the interview. “There’s, like, a million kilometres of river to be on, no matter if you’re in a sprint boat, a normal boat, anything. It’s amazing, and you’re invited.”
While Ferguson agrees, he said there are still several things that shoreline and waterfront homeowners can do to “keep it beautiful.”
“One is the shoreline protection – don’t mow your lawn down to the shoreline,” said Ferguson.
“And keep your septic systems in good shape. Some of them, like BioNest and Eco-Flow systems, are actually allowed to go directly into the river.”
Ferguson noted that while these septic systems put very little coliforms into the river, they do bring E. coli levels up in the river. E. coli is a type of bacteria that normally lives in the intestines of humans and animals. High exposure in humans can cause nausea and vomiting and more serious illnesses including kidney failure, stroke or seizures.
“You’re not ever going to get no E. coli because of animals, but the more we put in, the higher it’s going to get,” he added.
Seeking personhood for river

Gatineau Valley Historical Society president and former Kitigan Zibi chief Gilbert Whiteduck has launched a campaign to give the Tenàgàdino Zibi, the Algonquin name for the Gatineau River, “personhood” status. Whiteduck said he feels that without protection, the river will continue to be exploited.
“The belief that we are not connected to water and land has allowed its destruction to permeate the world and our own little piece of that world,” wrote Whiteduck in a 2023 column for this newspaper.
Giving a river ‘personhood’ status means recognizing it as a legal entity with rights, similar to those of a person. This allows the river to be protected under the legal framework of nature rights in Canada, ensuring that its ecological integrity and the rights of the communities that depend on it are respected.
The Magpie River, which sits between Labrador and Quebec and travels nearly 300 kilometres across the rocky landscape to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River, became the first river in Canada to be granted “legal personhood” in 2021.
Whiteduck, along with FOG, created the Tenàgàdino Alliance last year, a collaborative effort aimed at protecting the river.
The two organizations are working on a comprehensive campaign that includes measures to monitor and improve water quality, protect the river’s ecosystem and raise awareness about the importance of the Gatineau River to the local community and the environment.