Dry wells on Perry Road leave residents with no water for over three weeks

Several residents of Perry Road gathered together on the evening of August 28 to develop their game plan in an attempt to solve the water supply problems that have plagued many of them in the neighbourhood since July.

All of the residences along Perry Road, as well as the 140 lots on surrounding streets, are not connected to the city’s water system. Their water comes from wells on their properties.

What caused the wells to dry up is not known. Residents have been waiting for three weeks for the results of tests conducted on their properties by the Ministry of the Environment. However, the group insisted that they would rather focus on fast and effective solutions than wait for the test results informing them of the cause.

Those gathered August 28 did not expect to wait for a response from the ministry, but instead launched a citizen petition to assess the possibility and the cost of connecting to the city’s water network.

On Friday, August 30, some of the residents, accompanied by councillors Audrey Bureau and Gilles Chagnon,  went door to door to determine their neighbours’ interest in the project and filling out a survey on the matter for the city.

This survey will be used to evaluate the neighbourhood’s interest in connecting to city water services, and to give the city an idea of how many individuals are willing to divide the connection bill. To receive an estimate of the cost per capita from the city, they will need the approval of two-thirds of the 140 land-owners in the unconnected sector, equivalent to 93 votes in favour.

After obtaining these signatures, the city will issue a cost estimate to interested residents, who can then decide to accept the offer or not.

According to Lucerne District Councillor Gilles Chagnon, residents have “nothing to lose and everything to gain” from this first phase of the project, which will cost them nothing and could ultimately increase the value of their property in the future.

Mr Chagnon and Ms Bureau emphasized to residents the importance of acting quickly to start the process so that they can begin to fight to release funds for the project in the next budget.

While waiting for the seasons to change and the wells to fill up with rainwater, the city of Gatineau has offered the citizens of Perry Road a supply of water at the Isabelle & Paul Duchesnay arena at 92 du Patrimoine Road in Old Aylmer.

Residents can visit the main entrance of the arena during opening hours and ask the arena attendants to fill their containers for them. (Trans.: BA)