Various initiatives were initiated during the summer by the representatives of the City of Deux-Montagnes to develop a dike to counter the devastating effects of major floods, like the one last spring.  Engineering studies have been commissioned by the City of Deux-Montagnes: a feasibility study, an impact study, and a hydraulic study. The resulting design is a vegetation-covered dike about 300 metres long. Some privately owned low walls will also have to be raised.

Bear in mind that the  City of Deux-Montagnes must obtain authorization from the Quebec government, and in particular from the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and the Fight Against Climate Change, to build a dike.

Deux-Montagnes Mayor Denis Martin has already submitted a petition with more than 2000 names supporting the request for a dike to the National Assembly.

In response to the request from the City of Deux-Montagnes, the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and the Fight Against Climate Change said that it would be necessary to go through a public hearing process (BAPE). This requirement from the ministry will unfortunately lead to additional delays before the dike can be built, providing the project is accepted.

Pending the response from the ministry, the City of Deux-Montagnes has, with the help of engineers, come up with a modified solution. It’s a method for quickly setting up a temporary dike in the event of an impending disaster. The dike would be composed of concrete blocks, a specialized membrane, and sand. The blocks will be deployed at various strategic locations so that they can be put in place up quickly in case of emergency.

In the meantime, the permanent dike project will continue to be analyzed by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and the Fight Against Climate Change.

What’s important to remember is that preventive measures are now in place to protect the recently flooded areas from future overflows of Lac des Deux-Montagnes.

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