After re-examining the issue for several days, the city of Montreal has concluded it has no choice but to dump 8 billion litres of untreated sewage into the St. Lawrence River.
The sewage will begin flowing into the river on Oct. 18 and last for seven to ten days.
The reason for the raw sewage dump is because a snowmelt collector near the Bonaventure Expressway needs to be moved. The Wellington collector feeds into a major sewer line, and all the pipes leading to that line need to be drained.
Once the sewers are clear, construction crews will dismantle the existing snowmelt collector and build a new one.
The city of Montreal put the plan on hold earlier this week after people complained about the disgusting nature of the project, but now says it has no choice.
"It's the only possible option," said Pierre Desrochers, president of Montreal's Executive Committee.
He added the collectors must be replaced because they are rusting to the point of falling apart.
Frederique Lamarche's family travels up and down the river regularly by boat. She said it's surprising the city would be allowed to dump so much waste when there are such strict rules for boaters to follow.
"We keep everything inside the boat until we can dispose it safely and now the city can throw away all this polluted water? It's just ridiculous in my opinion," she said.
Projet Montreal Leader Luc Ferrandez said the city had eight years to come up with other options, suggesting a the city put the water in a large petroleum boat until the work is done.
The mayor wasn't at the news conference today announcing the measure, but after his absence was criticized by the opposition, he sent out a tweet saying he understands the measure stirs emotions, but that he is "assured this decision is the right one for the environment."
Je peux comprendre la réaction des gens,l'idée crée de l'émoi. Je me suis assuré que cette décision était la bonne sur le plan environnement
— DenisCoderre (@DenisCoderre) October 2, 2015
Desrochers also said the city was taking advantage of the work to expand the sewer collector's capacity, and avoid any accidental sewage runoff -- the kind that sometimes happens during and after heavy rainfall.
The Ministry of the Environment approved the plan earlier this year, with Minister David Heurtel saying this week he was led to believe there was no other possible way to clear the sewer lines.
City officials have said the amount of untreated waste flowing into the river is negligible compared to the amount of water that flows through the St. Lawrence.
People are being asked not to come into contact with water on the southeast shores of the island from Oct. 18 to 28. In the port that restriction will last until Nov. 15.
