The GéoLAGON project in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, as presented by promoter Louis Massicotte, does not pass the test of sustainable development and poses serious risks for the water table. This is what we can understand from a devastating report prepared by the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve (RBC).
• Read also: New pitfall for the Charlevoix GéoLAGON
• Read also: GéoLAGON in Charlevoix: the MRC blocks the project for three months
This report, produced for the municipality, is presented this Wednesday evening to the population and makes 14 recommendations before permits are granted for the project which, in the version studied, includes 606 housing units in the forest zone, in addition to a huge artificial lagoon heated to 39 degrees, at least one restaurant and a toilet block.
Louis Massicotte has been repeating since the launch of his project, replicas of which are planned in Sainte-Adèle, Val Saint-Côme and Estrie, that his tourist villages will be self-sufficient in energy and water, thanks to the sun, geothermal energy and the rain.
The RBC report notably points out that maintaining a 120,000 square foot artificial lagoon at a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, in the absence of natural hydrothermal sources, represents a significant consumption of energy and materials, which questions the sustainability of such a project.
More details to come.