JOSHUA ALLAN
The 1019 Report
All towns in the 1019 region face the challenge of balancing population growth with maintaining an adequate water supply. However, some smaller municipalities in the region’s western edges face unique challenges on that front — without municipal water systems, the towns of St. Télesphore, Rivière Beaudette and part of St. Polycarpe rely on an ancient groundwater source, known as an esker.
“We made it our mission to preserve the esker sector, because the sector is very fragile,” said Marie-Louise Séguin, one of the founding members of the group L’Esker de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The non-profit organization held a launch party July 11 to celebrate its renewal as a group dedicated to the protection of a 12-square-kilometre area in St. Télesphore, as well as to broadening public knowledge about its functions and importance to the area.
L’Esker de Vaudreuil-Soulanges is a grassroots group that had been formed in the fall of 2023 to advocate against a plan put forward by the MRC Vaudreuil-Soulanges to build a compost facility north of the esker.
“It was a vulnerable location (for the project),” said Séguin, explaining that such a facility risked contaminating the water source.
The MRC ultimately abandoned its original plan. It is now proposing to build a multi-million-dollar compost-processing site on an 11-acre tract of land in the industrial park in Coteau du Lac.
Today, the group seeks to educate residents about the esker’s importance, not only as a source of drinking water, but also as part of the region’s “geological heritage,” Séguin explained, adding that it is “a unique and impressive ecological formation.”
The esker is a remnant of the Ice Age, when Canada was covered by a glacial sheet. The erosion of these glaciers about 10,000 years ago left behind geological ridges of sand and gravel deposited by glacial meltwater which are found across Canada and parts of the United States. This created a unique source for natural groundwater filtration, resulting in high-quality potable water.
A special feature of L’Esker de Vaudreuil-Soulanges’ July 11 launch was the introduction of a new craft beer, made with water sourced directly from the esker. The beer, named “L’Esker,” is brewed by the Ferme Brasserie Schoune, located just north of the ecosystem. The beer can sports the group’s blue water droplet logo. For each can sold, the Ferme Brasserie Schoune says it will donate $1 to L’Esker de Vaudreuil-Soulanges. The group is also accepting donations online.
The group says it plans to carrying out environmental studies of the esker, as well as organizing various public awareness campaigns to promote its continued protection.