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The town of Hudson, Quebec, its places, people and businesses online.
Lake Water Quality Improving
For a community which has a huge shoreline, the Town of Hudson has not, in the past, cultivated a close relationship with the Lake. Partly this was because the lake was often smelly and dirty. With many up-stream communities dumping their sewage directly into the lake and the farm runoff depositing manure on the beaches every August, many residents would not swim in the lake at all and others only from boats out in the deep water. The only public access was Thompson Park, where the beach is sandy but clogged with reeds, and the wharf at the end of Wharf Road. Dead fish were common.
Just over the last few years and in time for the opening of the new public areas near Hudson Sandy Beach, the quality of the lake water has improved drastically. Upstream communities have installed sewage treatment, farms are subject to stricter rules and many of the polluting industries are gone. While the Ottawa river is muddy by nature, waterfront residents thought they sensed a fresher smell to the water, fewer dead fish and more wildlife. Tests done at Cap St. Jacques on the island of Montreal and at Oka the past couple of years have shown an improving trend to water quality and we now have local confirmation.
The Hudson Yacht Club has augmented their water testing program and, so far this year, the results have been excellent. The club tests water in twelve locations along its shore and the results show excellent water quality. This is despite the fact that the unusually hot weather has meant that the water is quite warm. The club intends to continue testing every two weeks throughout the summer and to post the results on the bulletin board by the front gate. The new public Hudson Sandy Beach park is opening just in time.