In Quebec, we use water at home and at work so well every day that we take this privilege for granted. However, several daily activities have a more or less significant impact on the quality and quantity of water available. The ZIP Committee for the North Shore of the Estuary and all the collaborators of the EAU DÉFI! campaign (the municipality of Les Escoumins, the Council of the Innu First Nation, the MRC La Haute-Côte-Nord, the Haute-Côte-Nord Watersheds Organization and Parks Canada) wish to help the population of Les Escoumins and the Innu community of Essipit located in the MRC of La Haute-Côte-Nord to develop an intervention plan for the management of drinking water in order to preserve its quantity and its quality.
First of all, the first objective is to mobilize the population of Les Escoumins and Essipit in order to reduce the consumption of drinking water. It is therefore necessary to inform them about the consequences of the abusive use of drinking water on the environment while giving them tips and tricks to reduce water consumption and thus preserve its quality. Secondly, emphasis is placed on the damage caused by river discharges to encourage citizens to reduce the quantity of wastewater discharged. Finally, it is important to highlight the great wealth that the St. Lawrence offers residents because this resource is part of the reality of the local population and is very important in the ancestral traditions of the Escouminois and Essipiulnu.