As negotiations to set up a new island-wide water regulatory board in Montreal are ongoing, Quebec has granted both Dorval and Pointe-Claire an extension of the administrative control of their respective water treatment facilities.

The two West Island municipalities have lobbied to maintain control of their plants following the partial de-merger of the short-lived Montreal mega-city in 2006.

“The government of Quebec, through Bill 8, that has just been tabled a few days ago, confirmed that Pointe-Claire will remain responsible for the operation of its plant, at least until Dec. 31, 2013,” Pointe-Claire city clerk Jean-Denis Jacob stated last week.

In recent years, negotiations have been held to establish a regional board to manage all six facilities producing potable water on Montreal Island (Atwater, Charles-J.-Des-Baillets, Dorval, Lachine, Pierrefonds and Pointe-Claire).

“We’re trying to find an association where all the water plants on the island of Montreal would be controlled by a board,” said Dorval Mayor Edgar Rouleau.

He added his city and Pointe-Claire have asked the province to allow them to maintain control of their water plants until an island-wide board is set up.

The issue of double taxation for water has been a concern with West Islanders living in areas serviced by Dorval or Pointe-Claire, since they pay for the production for the water they consume plus they pay taxes towards the agglomeration budget for some of the water needs in Montreal. It’s hoped a new water board could set up a more equitable system.

Another issue of local control is fluoride. Dorval and Pointe-Claire add fluoride to potable water, with the financial backing from the province, while Montreal-managed treatment plants do not.

Pointe-Claire provides the potable water needs of Baie-d’Urfé, Beaconsfield, Kirkland Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue and Senneville. It also provides about 10 per cent of Dollard’s needs, with details of which streets receive fluoridated water can be found on the town’s website.

Montreal manages four filtration facilities, including one in Pierrefonds that underwent a $75-million upgrade. This facility sends water to the boroughs of Pierrefonds-Roxboro and Île-Bizard-Ste- Geneviève and most of Dollard.