By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
After decades of waiting, several dozen residents of a housing development in Brigham are expected to get reliable running water this week, after the town received a grant of nearly $1.5 million from a provincial government program aimed at shoring up municipal water infrastructure.
Most households in the community of about 2,300 people use water from private wells. According to Mayor Steven Neil, in the 1970s, a developer built several dozen houses with piped-in running water, but the “mishmash” of a water system never lived up to its promise. “It was a makeshift water system using water pumped in from a well. There was no real planning. It was a 1970s-type system done in the days when there was no regulation.”
Over the years, frustrated by poor water pressure, many residents of the area – known as the Guay sector after the developer – went back to using wells. Public works crews also ran into difficulties digging in the area, because no one knew precisely where all of the underground pipes were.
In the mid-2000s, as stricter regulations came into force, the piped-in water was put under a provincial boil-water advisory.
“They said, we’ll keep [the boil-water advisory] in force until you put in a new water system,” Neil said. “That wasn’t an option for us until the PRIMEAU program came out, covering 95 per cent of the cost.” The remaining amount was covered by a transfer from the federal government. Neil said the owners of the 22 homes hooked up to the water system will pay a small usage and maintenance fee; the town does not plan to increase taxes or fees for the community as a whole. The vast majority of Brighamites will continue to use well water. Neil said the system will have the capacity to hook up an additional five homes, but the town’s focus was on the 22 homes that had previously relied on inadequate piped-in water service.
“It’s a win for the people in the sector – the ones who don’t use the system are not paying for it, and the ones who are will get water almost for free,” Neil said. “They have been dealing with this for the last 17 years and they were looking to be on the hook for thousands of dollars – they are really happy that we got the grant.”
Neil said the grant came through “about a year ago” and allowed the municipality to install 1400 metres of piping, a small treatment centre and a generator to ensure the system keeps working when the power goes out. “Now we know where all the pipes are and we know that they’re not going to freeze or to stop working when the power goes out. We are so happy to finally be done with this file, because it [involved] a lot of time and effort and paperwork over the last couple of years. I have a lot of gratitude toward the government. This really helps.”
“This announcement is excellent news for Brigham! The support of the government of Quebec will allow for the completion of essential work that will improve the quality of life of many citizens. Upgrading the municipality’s assets will meet the needs of the population and help maintain a safe and attractive living environment. I am very proud of our government’s participation in this project,” Brome-Missisquoi MNA Isabelle Charest said in a statement.