Polytechnique Montréal experts on drinking water and purification of wastewater have produced a technical paper for the media and the general public, wishing to contribute to the discussion on the planned discharge of wastewater from the City of Montréal's southeast interceptor.
 

Polytechnique Montréal faculty includes professors who are experts on the protection of sources, on the treatment and distribution of drinking water, and on the collection and purification of wastewater. These professors wish to contribute to the discussion on the planned discharge of wastewater from the City of Montréal's southeast interceptor by providing scientific evidence from their respective areas of expertise.

They have just produced a technical paper for the media and the general public that answers the following questions:

• Is the planned work on the interceptor justified?
• Are discharges of untreated wastewater permitted and frequent in Québec?
• Can the waste be stored or treated at overflow points where the untreated wastewater will be discharged?
• What will the impacts of the discharges be?
• Could we be better prepared to assess the impact of emergency overflows on downstream water intakes?
• What are the beneficial impacts of this media event?

The five signatories are professors in the Department of Civil, Geological and Mining Engineering and are all members of the Centre de recherche, développement et validation des technologies et procédés de traitement des eaux (research, development and validation centre for water treatment technologies and processes -- CREDEAU). They are:

Sarah Dorner [expertise] is an associate professor and holds a Canada Research Chair in the protection of drinking-water sources.

Michèle Prévost [expertise] [résumé] is a full professor and holds the NSERC Industrial Chair in the treatment and distribution of drinking water. Professor Prévost served on the Walkerton Commission as an expert adviser.

Professors Prévost and Dorner are actively involved in defining quality standards for drinking-water and the protection of drinking-water sources in Québec and abroad. They are working in collaboration with municipalities and governments to improve the quality of drinking-water and to protect sources.

Raymond Desjardins [expertise] is a full professor, founder and first director of CREDEAU. He teaches the fundamentals of urban engineering, covering the treatment and distribution of drinking-water and the collection and treatment of wastewater.

Yves Comeau [expertise] [résumé], full professor, specializes in wastewater treatment. He is Director of Polytechnique's Environmental Engineering Laboratory and served on the Québec Committee on new wastewater treatment technologies.

Benoit Barbeau [expertise] [résumé] is a full professor and also holds an NSERC Industrial Chair in the treatment and distribution of drinking water and is the current Director of CREDEAU.