The province of Quebec has 5,900 dams and is not following its own law to ensure their safety, says the province’s commissioner for sustainable development, Jean Cinq-Mars. The Dam Safety Act was adopted after reservoirs overflowed or gave way in the Saguenay region in 1996. Resulting floods killed 11 people and destroyed 3,500 homes.
‘Some dams could break’
At a news conference to present his report, Cinq-Mars said some dams could break and that he is alarmed by the government’s lax attitude. He did not say which dams, but the idea is frightening given the many massive dams like the ones at James Bay which serve one of the largest hydro-electric systems in the world.
Cinq-Mars said the government is not inspecting, managing or maintaining dams adequately and it does not comply with its own requirement to have emergency action plans.
No security risk, says minister
Quebec’s Environment minister said his department will work to correct the problems cited in the report and he doesn’t believe there to be a security risk.
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.