NEWPORT — Memphremagog Conservation Inc. made a heartfelt call for citizens to get involved in preserving Lake Memphremagog and its watershed during its 58th annual general meeting Saturday at the Magog Community Centre.
Johanne Lavoie, the organization’s volunteer president, emphasized that every action counts to protect the natural treasure threatened by habitat loss and climate change effects.
“You also have a key role to play in preserving this essential drinking water reservoir and its unique ecosystems,” Lavoie said. “Together, we can ensure the future of Lake Memphremagog and its surroundings for generations to come.”
A special presentation highlighted the fifth anniversary of the moratorium on discharge of Coventry NEWSVT landfill leachate into Lake Memphremagog, the drinking water reservoir for nearly 185,000 Canadians. Between 2010 and 2019, millions of gallons of leachate containing thousands of contaminants, including PFAS chemicals, were discharged into the Newport wastewater treatment facility on the lake before the moratorium was imposed.
The moratorium resulted from efforts by Don’t Undermine Memphremagog’s Purity, or DUMP, which has prevented disposal of millions more gallons of leachate into the lake or watershed.
MCI granted its prestigious 2025 Gordon-Kohl Award to Henry Coe, founder of DUMP, for his commitment to protecting Lake Memphremagog. Alarmed by the Coventry landfill’s potential environmental impact, he mobilized against its expansion in 2018, contacting then-MCI President Robert Benoit, which led to DUMP’s creation.
“A permanent ban on disposal of landfill leachate anywhere in the Memphremagog watershed is our common goal,” Coe said. “Protecting the drinking water reservoir of our Quebec neighbors, and the ecosystem we all depend upon, is our priority.”
The organizations continue focusing on concerns related to water quality given Vermont’s only landfill’s location near the Black River and South Bay of Lake Memphremagog, including the experimental leachate pretreatment pilot project in Coventry.
Federal Parliament members Louis Villeneuve and Marianne Dandurand, along with Sherbrooke councillors Annie Godbout and Christelle Lefèvre, attended the meeting.
