Environment
Watercourse Management
Effective January 1st, 2006, the MRC Pontiac has exclusive jurisdiction of watercourses on its territory under Sections 103 to 110 of the Municipal Powers Act (L.Q. 2005, Chapter 6). By-law Number 138-2008 to regulate all matters relating to the flow of watercourses within the MRC Pontiac was adopted in 2009, to better govern watercourses under this jurisdiction.
To effectively manage watercourses over its large territory, the MRC has signed an agreement with the municipalities to ensure unobstructed water flow and to establish a framework for watercourse maintenance and improvement of project procedures.
By adopting and following these regulations, we are providing protection and safety to our residents, as well as preserving the health of lakes, rivers and streams and their surrounding habitats. No work may be carried out in the littoral zone of a watercourse without first obtaining the necessary authorizations. Prior to carrying out any work near a watercourse, you must first contact your municipal inspector.
What is a watercourse?
Attention! Some ditches are considered watercourses!
The law makes no distinction between regular or intermittent flowing watercourses and those created or modified by human intervention.
According to Article 103 of the Municipal Powers Act:
Any regional county municipality has jurisdiction over regular or intermittent flowing watercourses, including those created or modified by human intervention, with the following exceptions:
1° Any watercourse or portion of a watercourse that the government determines, after consulting with the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs, by decree, which comes into effect on the date of its publication in the Gazette officielle du Québec or any later date specified therein;
2° A ditch on public or private roads;
3° A boundary ditch as defined in Article 1002 of the Civil Code;
4° A drainage ditch that meets the following requirements:
- a) Used solely for drainage and irrigation purposes;
- b) Exists only due to human intervention;
- c) Has a watershed area of less than 100 hectares.
The portion of a watercourse that serves as a ditch remains under the jurisdiction of the regional county municipality.
Regional Wetlands and Water Bodies Plan
In 2017, the Government of Quebec adopted the Act respecting the conservation of wetlands and bodies of water, which assigns responsibility to the MRCs (regional county municipalities) to develop a regional wetlands and water bodies plan (PRMHH).
The PRMHH is a tool that must be considered in the Land Use and Development Plan of each MRC, in order to better plan actions and interventions related to the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands and water bodies (MHH).
In the Outaouais, the MRC Pontiac, des Collines-de-l’Outaouais, Papineau, and La Vallée-de-la-Gatineau have chosen to work together in a concerted approach in partnership with the Conseil régional de l’environnement et du développement durable de l’Outaouais (CREDDO) to develop their respective PRMHH.
We invite you to consult the with CREDDO for more information on the PRMHH.
You may also contact the environment team at the MRC Pontiac at the following address: environnement@mrcpontiac.qc.ca.
.
Ecosystem Services
The Pontiac’s environment and natural resources support the region’s activities. Forests, lakes and rivers in the northern portion of the territory promote, among other things, vacationing, outdoor recreation and the forest industry. To the south, the lowlands, fertile soils and calmer rivers allow for agricultural production, urbanization and industrial development. All these activities are closely dependent on water bodies (lakes and rivers) and wetlands (bogs, marshes, swamps).
In addition to their role in purifying water, wetlands and water bodies provide a wide range of ecosystem services to people. These services generate economic wealth and reduce public and private expenditures:
- Capturing greenhouse gases;
- Biodiversity and ecosystem balance;
- Potential for hunting, fishing and bird watching;
- Balance in the natural distribution of water during periods of drought and flooding;
- Soil and plant materials that mitigate flooding and erosion.
.
